“WINFRID” is the response of the Technology Region Karlsruhe (TRK) to the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment’s request for funding to establish a “model region for green hydrogen.”
Under the umbrella of TechnologieRegion Karlsruhe GmbH, the project consortium from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT), and EIfER European Institute for Energy Research submitted the official competition application to the L-Bank in Karlsruhe last week. Over 40 actors from the TRK and beyond have collaborated on a concept for the development of a hydrogen economy in the technology region. If the project is successful, Waghäusel and Gaggenau will invest over € 40 million.
“WINFRID” is an acronym for “hydrogen infrastructure in demonstration.” Various model projects based on the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion will be launched as part of WINFRID. The TechnologyRegion concept encompasses the entire value chain, from local production of green hydrogen from renewable energy sources to innovative storage and transportation concepts, as well as various green hydrogen applications.
However, the technical prerequisites would have to be established first. Because, according to Pinkwart, who also teaches at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, there will be insufficient electricity generated from renewable sources in the future to meet the demand for hydrogen in Baden-Württemberg. The generation, storage, and use of hydrogen in energy self-sufficient residential and commercial districts is another important model project in the application.
Due to the Corona, all meetings could only be held digitally, making coordination of the more than 40 partners and the development of the model applications a difficult task. The competition for funding for the “model region green hydrogen” in the state appears to be fierce. If the TRK’s draft proposal is approved, a full proposal could be submitted by late summer.
