Pfeffenhausen --In the presence of State Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Bavarian State Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, Stmwi), a trailer (truck storage) filled with grid-friendly green hydrogen from Pfeffenhausen was sent on its journey to the Munich district today. The hydrogen production plant in Pfeffenhausen is now in test operation and is scheduled to go into regular operation at the end of 2024, when all outstanding improvements can be completed.

From now on, the MVV regional buses in the districts of Ebersberg and Munich will run on green hydrogen from Pfeffenhausen. With the hydrogen from a full trailer with 1,250 kg of green hydrogen, up to 60 bus refuelings can be carried out and passengers can be transported 16,000 km without emissions.

The Hofolding filling station at the Geldhauser Omnibusse bus depot was funded with Bavarian funds from the H2T program and was put into operation at the beginning of 2024.

The green hydrogen from Pfeffenhausen is mainly generated with electricity from the directly connected Burkhart open-space PV system of BürgerEnergie Niederbayern eG.

A grid-friendly operating mode including balancing energy marketing is used for production, which primarily uses surplus, regulated and cheap electricity for hydrogen production via a balancing group managed by BayWa re AG.

State Minister Hubert Aiwanger : “The production and provision of green hydrogen in Pfeffenhausen shows how the hydrogen ramp-up can work in Bavaria. Renewable hydrogen is a key building block in the transformation of industry, mobility and the energy sector. It is therefore a core concern of the Bavarian state government to build a viable hydrogen infrastructure consisting of production plants like this one in Pfeffenhausen, an efficient hydrogen network, nationwide hydrogen filling stations and good logistics to supply the hydrogen economy. With the Bavarian Hydrogen Strategy 2.0, adopted under my leadership in July 2024, we have reorganized the state government’s goals and activities. We are relying on appropriate and tailor-made framework conditions that will advance the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in the best possible way. Because our companies need planning and investment security on the path to transformation. Important milestones here include the Bavarian funding programs for the development of an electrolysis infrastructure and for the development of a hydrogen filling station infrastructure, both of which have been very well received.”

Dr. Tobias Brunner, Managing Director of Hy2B Hydrogen GmbH : "The shareholders of Hy2B Hydrogen GmbH and I are delighted that we can deliver the first green hydrogen produced in a grid-friendly manner from Pfeffenhausen at a time when green hydrogen is becoming increasingly important as an energy source and fuel. Our thanks for the firm belief and patience in this flagship project, one of the first three HyPerformer projects in Germany, go to all those involved in the project, the Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) in Berlin, the Jülich project sponsor, the National Organization for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH), as well as the Bavarian state government, the districts of Landshut and Munich and the municipality of Pfeffenhausen."

Outlook: Once the plant is fully operational, which is planned for the end of 2024 after all outstanding improvements and acceptance tests have been completed, an average of 1,200 kilograms of green hydrogen per day will be produced, compressed to up to 380 bar, filled into compressed gas trailers (trucks with hydrogen storage bottles) and distributed. The trailers will deliver the green hydrogen to two bus and truck filling stations in the Munich and Ebersberg districts, where the first hydrogen fuel cell buses have been able to refuel since 2023. Ten of the buses started operating in regional transport operated by Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund GmbH (MVV) in 2023. Two more buses were added in 2024. The remaining green hydrogen will also be used to supply customers from the mobility and energy sectors. Part of the green hydrogen will be delivered to existing and planned Bavarian hydrogen filling stations in order to accelerate the decarbonization of transport in Bavaria and to support the expansion of the filling station network. Later, the Hydrogen Technology Application Center (WTAZ) planned in the immediate vicinity of the Hy2B electrolyzer will be supplied with green hydrogen. The WTAZ in Pfeffenhausen, which is supported by the federal government with up to 72.5 million euros and by the Free State of Bavaria with at least 30 million euros, is to co-found the National Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Center (ITZ) as one of four hydrogen centers nationwide and is scheduled to begin operations in 2026/27.

The green electricity for green hydrogen production already comes largely physically from the PV system, which is directly connected to the electrolyzer at the same grid connection point. This connection is particularly valuable because Pfeffenhausen belongs to a redispatch zone for PV electricity; this means that the PV electricity generated in the Burkhart solar plant is throttled back in the morning on almost every sunny day. In 2024 alone, several gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity will be lost, for which the German taxpayer will have to pay compensation (more than 4 billion euros across Germany in 2023). Thanks to the grid-friendly operation including balancing energy marketing of the HyPerformer electrolyzer in Pfeffenhausen in a balancing group managed by BayWa re AG, more than 5 megawatts of PV electricity can be used even if the PV system receives a curtailment signal. This will make previously unused electricity of several gigawatt hours usable and convert it into green hydrogen and, in the future, also into green heat and green oxygen.

In total, the electrolyzer helps to save more than 4,500 tons of CO2 annually in the HyBayern model region and its output can be doubled again (from five to ten megawatts) if the WTAZ hydrogen center needs additional hydrogen.

The development of the HyBayern region as a hydrogen region is being funded with up to 20 million euros by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport as part of the National Innovation Program for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP2). The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by the Project Management Agency Jülich (PtJ).

Background information on Hy2B Hydrogen GmbH

The shareholders of Hy2B Wasserstoff GmbH represent a unique alliance of companies, districts and citizen energy cooperatives. In addition to Hynergy Invest GmbH, BayWa AG and Tyczka Hydrogen GmbH, the districts of Landshut and Munich as well as the citizen energy cooperatives Isar eG, Niederbayern eG and Unterhaching eG are involved in Hy2B Wasserstoff GmbH.

Kraftanlagen Energies & Services GmbH was commissioned as implementation partner for the plant construction and MR PLAN GmbH was commissioned as general planner for the construction of the buildings and outdoor facilities. The proven alkaline electrolysis technology of the Norwegian manufacturer NEL will be used to produce the green hydrogen through the electrolytic splitting of water using green electricity. Hy2B Hydrogen is supported by HypoVereinsbank in securing the financing.

The shareholders of Hy2B Wasserstoff GmbH have selected the technology and implementation partners.

The development of electricity, water, sewage and data lines is supported by Bayernwerk Netz, the Rottenburger Group, the Pfeffenhausen community water association, Deutsche Telekom and the Ferstl engineering office. Bayernwerk Netz has built a new medium-voltage local network station on the site, which connects the hydrogen center to the Pfeffenhausen substation. Water and data lines have been laid and were provided by the Rottenburger Group and Telekom. The Rottenburger Group will supply the electrolyzer with fresh water.

The municipality of Pfeffenhausen and the district of Landshut played and continue to play an important role, providing helpful support in questions of development, urban planning and approval procedures and continuing to support the development of the hydrogen center.

The Hy2B Hydrogen GmbH

Hy2B Wasserstoff GmbH was founded in October 2020 as the operating company for the electrolyzer and the distribution of green hydrogen in the HyPerformer model region HyBayern. From the end of 2024, Hy2B will produce and distribute green hydrogen from renewable energies in regular operation at the Pfeffenhausen site and provide it for local public transport in the districts and for other customers in the region.

The Hy2B electrolyzer will produce 440 to 600 tonnes of green hydrogen per year with a nominal initial output of just under five megawatts. A growing proportion of this green hydrogen will be produced over the coming years using solar power from photovoltaic systems in the immediate vicinity and, in the future, also using additional wind power. To this end, a twelve-megawatt open-space photovoltaic system built by Bürgerenergie Niederbayern eG will be connected directly to the electrolyzer at the start of the plant, sharing a common grid connection point with the electrolyzer and thus providing an important part of the grid service. Three filling stations are available for transporting the green hydrogen to the filling stations and customers, each of which can fill a maximum of one truck trailer per day with compressed gas up to 380 bar. Initially, four trailers, each with a hydrogen capacity of 1,250 kg, will be available for Hy2B hydrogen. The fleet is to be expanded to include more trailers by 2025. The Hydrogen Technology and Application Center (WTAZ) is also to be built in the immediate vicinity of the Hy2B electrolyzer. A Bavarian consortium has been promised 72.5 million euros in federal funds and at least 30 million euros in state funds in the competition for the upcoming national Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Center (ITZ).

The close proximity of the electrolyzer and the hydrogen center results in a fruitful synergy, as green hydrogen can be made available to the hydrogen center via a direct line from the Hy2B electrolyzer. In the future, the aim is to also feed the waste heat from the electrolysis into the hydrogen center's local heating network and to continue to use the process oxygen. This should achieve a particularly high level of energy efficiency.

Green hydrogen plays a key role in reducing CO2 emissions from energy and transport, particularly when the green hydrogen can be produced from fluctuating solar and wind power production that the existing power grids would otherwise not be able to absorb. Pfeffenhausen offers particularly favorable conditions for installing an electrolyzer to convert green electricity into hydrogen. A 12.5 megawatt open-space photovoltaic system is in operation in the immediate vicinity, and its grid access and operation can be improved with the help of the electrolyzer. Further large solar systems and two wind turbines are planned for the future. Regionally produced green hydrogen is particularly useful as an energy source when it is used to power regional buses and commercial vehicles, as is the case in the HyBayern project. The green hydrogen is distributed from Pfeffenhausen to filling stations within a radius of up to 300 kilometers throughout Bavaria.

The HyPerformer model region "HyBayern"

At the end of 2019, the green hydrogen model region HyBayern in the districts of Landshut, Ebersberg and Munich was awarded 20 million euros in funding by the BMDV (formerly BMVI) as one of the first three HyPerformer regions. Together with transport companies, energy suppliers, industry, commerce and trades from the region, a regional cycle of green hydrogen production, hydrogen distribution and hydrogen use in emission-free hydrogen vehicle fleets was planned between 2020 and 2022, which is now going into test operation. The central project of the HyPerformer region HyBayern was the construction of a five megawatt electrolyzer with distribution center, filling stations and fuel cell buses from the bus companies Geldhauser and Ettenhuber in operation on regional lines of the Munich Transport Association in the districts of Munich and Ebersberg. Hy2B Hydrogen was founded as an operating company for green hydrogen production by Hynergy Invest GmbH together with BayWa AG, Tyczka Hydrogen GmbH, the districts of Landshut and Munich as well as the citizen energy cooperatives Isar, Lower Bavaria and Unterhaching.

The shareholders of Hy2B Wasserstoff GmbH

BAYWA AG
BayWa is a shareholder in Hy2B Wasserstoff GmbH. It is responsible for hydrogen logistics, the commercial operation of the planned hydrogen filling station in Hofolding (Munich district) and organizes greenhouse gas quota trading.

Tyczka Hydrogen GmbH
Tyczka Hydrogen GmbH from Geretsried near Munich brings the many years of technical, market and logistics expertise in the field of industrial gases and hydrogen from the Tyczka Group and focuses on the sale of green hydrogen in industry and mobility.

BürgerEnergie Niederbayern eG
BürgerEnergie Niederbayern is making a significant contribution to the regional energy transition in the hands of citizens. A 12.5 MW photovoltaic system has been built in the immediate vicinity to supply the electrolyzer with renewable electricity. In the coming years, it plans to build further open-space PV systems and two wind turbines. The business areas range from solar and wind power to climate-neutral heat to e-car sharing and e-charging station networks. By participating in the electrolysis plant, BürgerEnergie Niederbayern eG is expanding this spectrum to include the production of green hydrogen and the use of the waste heat generated in the process for local heating networks.

Bürger-Energie-Unterhaching eG
The Bürger-Energie-Unterhaching cooperative offers its members a real participation in the energy transition through the HY2B participation, with profit and voting rights. The new hydrogen business area excites the cooperative, which is why it is looking forward to expanding its range of activities as an energy cooperative in this sector with great enthusiasm. At the same time, however, it also sees itself as a multiplier to advance further projects of this kind in Bavaria.

Bürgerenergie Isar eG
Bürgerenergie Isar eG offers interested people extensive opportunities to actively support and help shape the energy transition. Participation in Hy2B Wasserstoff GmbH is a unique project in the HyPerformer region HyBayern, particularly with regard to rapid decarbonization.

Landshut District
The Landshut District seized the opportunity early on to make its contribution to the energy transition with green hydrogen and is therefore taking on a coordinating role for the overall HyBayern project in the model region. As a strong business location that is valued by numerous medium-sized companies as well as the automotive industry and its suppliers, sustainable development of mobility is one of the district's major concerns.

Munich District
The Munich District, with around 360,000 inhabitants the most populous district in Bavaria, has, together with its 29 municipalities, set itself far-reaching climate protection goals and enshrined them in the "29++ Climate.Energy.Initiative." Since 2019, the district has been intensively committed to the use of green hydrogen.

Norway: Growing Interest in Cars Running on Hydrogen