The Rhine-Main region in the center of Germany is looking for solutions for the energy transition. A waste-to-wheels study by Tractebel shows that waste-to-energy plants can cost-effectively produce green hydrogen to decarbonize transport.
As part of the HyExperts project MH2Regio, Tractebel experts developed a strategy for a regional hydrogen infrastructure in Frankfurt am Main.
The federal government supported the project with funds from the HyLand funding program
The focus was on the Nordweststadt waste-to-energy plant. In their study, the experts determined a technically and economically optimal overall concept for a complete hydrogen infrastructure – from electrolysis and transport to the filling station. The hydrogen produced in the process is to be made available as a green fuel for local and long-distance public transportation, heavy-load and freight traffic, and inland waterway shipping. The project also aimed to develop standardized technical plant concepts for these user groups that can be transferred to other locations and requirements.
The Tractebel study shows that a regional hydrogen infrastructure can also be maintained in an economically attractive way from the operator’s point of view. Subsidies contribute to success just as much as operator-owned concepts.
“Waste-to-energy plants have the potential to become nuclei for the development of regional hydrogen infrastructures due to their special prerequisites: A high proportion of biogenic waste is the basis for green electricity. In addition, they are usually conveniently located. And last but not least, the municipal waste disposal companies’ own refuse collection vehicles are the first customers for the clean “fuel. According to our findings, green hydrogen can be produced cost-effectively at waste-to-energy plants and, as a renewable fuel, contribute to the rapid decarbonization of mobility in cities,” sums up Felix Knicker, project engineer at Tractebel.
An overview of the MH2Regio project results and an online calculator for hydrogen users can be found on the official project website of Mainova AG.
