Funding project becomes model for green hydrogen in the country

32 million euros in funding for the region – Green Innovation Park participates

 

04. July 2022

Yesterday, Monday (04.07.2022), the kick-off for the project “Model Region Green Hydrogen Baden-Württemberg” took place in Schwäbisch-Gmünd: State Secretary Dr. Andre Baumann from the Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Management symbolically presented the project consortium with the funding sum totaling around 32 million euros.

Schwäbisch Gmünd / Rosenfeld, 04.07.2022 – The funding is provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the state of Baden-Württemberg. The aim of the funding project is to test a hydrogen economy in both rural and urban areas. Activities are concentrated on four lighthouse projects that cover the entire value chain from generation to use in industry, transportation and neighborhood solutions. This will be supplemented by an office based in Ulm, which will be set up for central tasks in the project and will organize information events in the participating urban and rural districts, among other things.

The model region comprises the districts of Reutlingen, Heidenheim and Tübingen, the Alb-Donau district, the Ostalb district and the cities of Schwäbisch Gmünd and Ulm. In addition, the consortium includes a total of 15 other project partners from industry and science who are implementing specific model projects. These include the construction of electrolysers for hydrogen production, filling station infrastructure and distribution systems, as well as the development of an educational platform for further training courses, information for the public and other companies in the region.

Green Innovation Park participates in grid-serving hydrogen production

Hydrogen (H2) as a multi-faceted energy carrier is becoming increasingly important for the global energy transition. Especially in its green variant, H2 offers considerable potential as a sustainable energy source and energy storage.

As one of the four lighthouse projects in the funding project, the networking of decentralized hydrogen supply and consumption the so-called “H2-Grid” project is therefore planned. In addition to the utility companies Stadtwerke Mössingen, FairEnergie GmbH Reutlingen, FairNetz GmbH Reutlingen, Stadtwerke Rottenburg GmbH and Stadtwerke Tübingen GmbH, the universities of Reutlingen, Rottenburg and Ulm as well as the SÜLZLE Group with the Green Innovation Park are involved. The common goal of all project members is the construction of about 10 decentralized hydrogen production plants (electrolysers) for local and grid-serving operation and demand-based hydrogen marketing.

One of the project’s largest electrolysers will be built in the industrial park of the future. South of Stuttgart, directly on the A81 near Sulz / Vöhringen, an extraordinary construction project is being built under the name “Green Innovation Park” on the initiative of the family-owned company SÜLZLE. Within its environmentally friendly energy concept, the Green Innovation Park and its partner Bayernwerk Natur are planning, among other things, the construction of an electrolyzer that produces green hydrogen from renewable energies. The hydrogen produced is becoming increasingly important in terms of climate-friendly mobility. For this reason, the raw material is not to be converted back into electricity, but distributed directly to customers in the model region via an H2 grid control center. In this way, the household, industry, municipalities and mobility sectors such as buses and trains can be supplied with the green energy carrier in the future. For example, via hydrogen trains and hydrogen filling stations. “With this showcase project, all those involved want to demonstrate together that the industrial production and use of green hydrogen is possible and economically viable. As the Green Innovation Park, we want to contribute to further research into green hydrogen as a pioneering future technology and bring it to market maturity. At the same time, our goal is to provide important impetus for the region and develop it into a technologically strong and future-oriented hydrogen region,” explains Heinrich Sülzle, Managing Partner of the SÜLZLE Group.

The project will be funded for the period 2022 – 2027. After that, the system must be economically self-supporting. Networking with other partners and stakeholders in the region and beyond will therefore play an important role in the long-term success of the project right from the start and is already in full swing.

You can find more information about the project here.

About the Model Region Green Hydrogen e.V.
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