EWE, SWB and Partners Make Northwest Germany a “Hydrogen Hub”: to Invest 90 Million Euros

Oldenburg / Berlin— EWE boss Stefan Dohler had reason to celebrate today in Berlin: Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer promised him millions in funding for the project “Hyways for Future” – at the announcement of the winners of the ideas competition ” HyLand hydrogen regions in Germany “. 

EWE, swb and Partners intend to invest around 90 million euros in the project, including the prospective funding. The competition was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).

The BMVI would like to motivate municipalities and regions in Germany to sensitize regionally to the topic of hydrogen, to develop hydrogen concepts or to implement concrete hydrogen projects. For this purpose, the BMVI provides funding in three categories. “Germany becomes a hydrogen country. With our H2 funding, we are going into space and supporting another 16 regions in building a local hydrogen economy. Our goal is for hydrogen to be produced locally from renewable sources and then consumed in the region as far as possible. One thing is clear, we think mobility in a new and holistic way – from the production of energy and drive technology to the tank infrastructure. Only when the hydrogen turns green,

Focus is on transport sector

With the “Hyways for Future” project, EWE intends to promote the market ramp-up of regeneratively produced hydrogen in the northwest in a consortium with around 90 partners from industry and politics. The aim is to provide long-term climate-friendly hydrogen in the metropolitan region of northwestern Germany  in the areas of industry, energy supply and transport. The focal points of the hydrogen model region are the cities of Cuxhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven, Oldenburg and Bremen. “In the first step, the focus will be on the use of hydrogen in the mobility sector,” explained Stefan Dohler. According to Dohler, concrete investment intentions within the framework of the project include, among others, the construction of hydrogen refueling stations, the purchase of hydrogen buses for public transport cleaning vehicles, as well as hydrogen-powered cars and trucks. EWE sees advantages in the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier, especially in the heavy-duty sector.

Northwest becomes a hydrogen hub

Due to its geographic location, the metropolitan region of North West offers the best possible conditions for a large-scale, green hydrogen economy. For example, it opens up the possibility of producing green hydrogen with existing and newly constructed offshore and onshore wind farms and importing it by ship into existing caverns and to use it alongside the transport sector in the industrial, energy and heating sectors. “These prerequisites combined with our willingness to innovate and our infrastructure make the northwest a hydrogen hub,” says Dohler.