Driven by Hydrogen: Lower Saxony’s H2 Alliance

09.09.2019  — 

On August 21, 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by players from industry and science as well as multipliers from the whole of Lower Saxony as a declaration of intent to initiate Lower Saxony’s H2 Alliance. The overriding objective is to set up a green hydrogen economy in Lower Saxony as one element in transforming the energy system in conjunction with the urgently needed aspect of sector coupling, with a particular focus on mobility and the maritime sector. The event was attended by political representatives from Lower Saxony’s Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Environment and Science as well as the State Chancellery as recipient of the Memorandum of Understanding.

190909 IAV Wasserstoff Allianz

Generally speaking, Lower Saxony’s H2 Alliance is open to all interested players, including those already involved with specific hydrogen applications or forging ahead with active R&D, as well as setting up demonstration projects that look at how hydrogen is generated, stored, transported and used.

Fuel-cell cars running on H2 as fuel are already operating on Lower Saxony’s roads as volume-produced zero-emission vehicles, while solutions with hydrogen for commercial vehicles and other pilot projects are currently going through the trial phase. Since 2018, two fuel-cell trains have been part of the daily local public transport service in the North of Germany. The intention now is to reinforce these and other uses for hydrogen. The overriding objective of the players is to establish a hydrogen economy with “green” hydrogen generated from renewable energy sources as a contribution to transforming our energy system.

Lower Saxony already fulfills all the prerequisites for setting up a green hydrogen sector. It offers the necessary basis consisting of a high share of renewables, great potential for expanding solar and wind energy and the presence of cavern fields for gas storage. Existing central node and distribution points for electricity and gas lines can be integrated in a hydrogen supply system, together with capacities already in existence or generated by the energy transition for transporting and feeding into the electricity and gas infrastructure. In next to no time, a large number of players and projects have emerged, all with the same objective: to set up a functioning hydrogen sector in their region and in the state of Lower Saxony. Lower Saxony’s H2 Alliance aims to pool these forces and bring together the various players so that they can work together to achieve their objective.

The partners involved in initiating Lower Saxony's H2 Alliance

  • Becker Büttner Held Consulting AG
  • DEEP.KBB GmbH
  • DLR Institute of Networked Energy Systems
  • ecos Consult GmbH
  • Enercon GmbH EWE AG
  • hannoverimpuls GmbH
  • University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer
  • H2-Region Emsland
  • IAV GmbH
  • JA-Gastechnology GmbH
  • county of Emsland
  • Lower Saxony/ Bremen e.V.
  • Leibniz University of Hanover (LUH) IfES
  • Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik GmbH
  • MARIKO GmbH
  • NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank
  • Oldenburger Energiecluster OLEC e.V.
  • PLANET GbR
  • RWE Generation SE
  • Lingen (Ems)
  • Oldenburg (Oldb)
  • Stadtwerke Emden GmbH
  • SWO Netz GmbH

Contacts in the initiation process

Oldenburger Energiecluster OLEC e.V.
Oliver Smith (project manager)
Marie-Curie-Straße 1
26129 Oldenburg

Mail: oliver.smith@energiecluster.de
Phone: +49 441-36116 567