ABO Wind is connecting a wind farm with the creation and usage of green hydrogen for the first time: The Hünfeld-Michelsrombach project is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport with about twelve million euros as part of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology. NOW GmbH coordinates the funding guideline, while Project Management Jülich is in charge of putting it into action.
ABO Wind CEO Dr. Jochen Ahn states, “We have been working hard on the topic of hydrogen for almost ten years and are thrilled to be implementing a project for the first time. ABO Wind is preparing to build and run a wind turbine and a hydrogen truck and bus filling station at the Hessisches Kegelspiel industrial park in Hünfeld (Michelsrombach district). The wind turbine with a 4.8 megawatt installed capacity has already submitted its application for a permit. The electrolyzer’s initial power rating will be 5 megawatts. To accommodate the anticipated rise in hydrogen consumption, an extension to 7.5 megawatts is planned after five years.
In the industrial park, water electrolysis will be used to manufacture the green hydrogen, which will mostly be distributed to trucks at the public hydrogen filling station that will also be constructed. Automobiles could possibly be used in the future. The site’s filling station can refuel up to 50 trucks per day. The plant’s layout enables a portion of the hydrogen to be delivered by truck to far-off clients via transportable storage units, or “trailers.” In this way, the project will support the change in transportation while also giving industrial and commercial clients the chance to gradually green their operations.
“The project’s direct connecting line between the wind turbine and the electrolyzer is an unusual aspect. It enables the synchronization of hydrogen production with wind energy supply, “Dr. Jochen Ahn adds. A sustainable energy system cannot be constructed without such storage technologies. The electrolyzer can use the grid to get power if there is no wind. Initial estimations show that the initiative prevents the annual emission of nitrogen oxides and 115,000 tons of carbon dioxide. This effect is to be further enhanced: A laundry beside the gas station might minimize its gas use by utilizing the electrolyzer’s waste heat. Additionally, bleaching and disinfection are great uses for the oxygen produced during electrolysis.
The “HyWheels” project by HyExpert, which was started in 2019 and intends to make East Hesse a leader in a logistics sector that is carbon-neutral, is where the hydrogen project came from. The HyWheels Hessenflotte, another project that is a member of the H2 cluster, was started at the beginning of 2023. One of the largest fuel cell car fleets is what is intended. In order to network filling stations, record data on H2 truck usage and specifically H2 components, and create a service concept, this will serve as a pilot project in Germany.
