In September 2021 we featured a story by GP-Joule on the latest hydrogen station to go into operation in North Friesland
North Friesland shows the world its innovative power for the energy transition.
One day before the opening of the leading trade fair HUSUM Wind, the second hydrogen filling station in North Friesland goes into operation. This proves that innovation and energy transition in North Friesland are not limited to the exhibition grounds. In Niebüll, around 40 kilometers to the north, buses and cars have been able to refuel with green hydrogen since August 26th. Both filling stations are part of the eFarm joint project, which was the first in Germany to demonstrate how wind energy and hydrogen can be combined into a regional energy system.
The official opening of the gas station took place on Monday. “I am grateful to everyone involved, especially GP JOULE, but also to the other companies from the region who support this great project,” says Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther. He conveyed his congratulations in a video message and very much regretted not being able to be there. At the same time, he praised the role model character of the project: “We want to demonstrate exactly that to the world: that hydrogen can be produced on site from energy that is 100 percent renewable. They all prove that together and that is really something great that people in Schleswig-Holstein can rightly be proud of.” André Steinau, Managing Director of the project company eFarming GmbH & Co. KG, who welcomed the assembled guests in Husum, explains: “North Friesland is the first district with a practically nationwide infrastructure for hydrogen mobility. Around 35,000 people in Niebüll and Husum have a hydrogen filling station in their immediate vicinity. And everyone else in the district can fill up with hydrogen within 40 kilometers.”
The new Husum hydrogen filling station is on the site of team energie GmbH & Co. KG, one of the regional companies involved in the project company eFarming GmbH & Co. KG. “In order to continue growing as a medium-sized energy trader, we are constantly developing. We are rooted in the north and are therefore all the more pleased to be able to make this sustainable offer from the region to our customers,” says Dirk Albertsen, Managing Director of team energie. “We rely on openness to technology and a diverse range that meets the needs of our customers. That’s why we’re investing in new and innovative forms of energy – such as hydrogen,” adds his colleague Volker Behn, also Managing Director of team energie.
North Friesland is always one step ahead in the energy transition
The fact that the city of Husum, with a population of 25,000, has maintained itself as a trade fair location for an international growth industry for decades is due to the fact that wind energy is rooted and has grown in the region. Companies and politicians are now continuing this tradition. Green hydrogen from wind energy is the core topic of this year’s Husum Wind. Meanwhile, the regional joint project eFarm shows how everything that is discussed at the fair and the forums already works today.
Wind farms in northern Schleswig-Holstein supply the electricity for the electrolysers. The hydrogen can be refueled in Husum and Niebüll by trucks and private cars. Two of the project’s own fuel cell buses are also refueled here every morning. They have been in regular service by the DB subsidiary Autokraft in the entire district since May. A total of 20 shareholders are involved in the project. “With the opening of this hydrogen filling station, North Friesland shows once again that the energy transition is being lived here locally – also thanks to companies such as GP JOULE and eFarming GmbH & Co. KG. Green hydrogen – more sustainable mobility is not possible at the moment”, praises Husum’s mayor Uwe Schmitz.
Ove Petersen, co-founder and CEO of the initiator GP JOULE, also sees the pioneering role of the eFarm project in the acceptance of the population: “With hydrogen as an energy source, we now have the opportunity to provide citizens directly with renewable energy from wind and solar power from their to supply the region.”
eFarm – an excellent example of regional hydrogen economy
The hydrogen joint project eFarm is currently the largest hydrogen mobility project in Germany. It received the German Renewables Award in September 2020 for combining regional renewable energy production and local consumption. This award is given by the Hamburg Renewable Energies Cluster for outstanding innovations and personal commitment to renewable energies. The eFarm project was initiated by GP JOULE in 2017. 20 regional shareholders are involved, including community wind and solar parks and municipal utilities. eFarm was funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport, among others.
About GP JOULE
Founded in 2009 with the conviction that 100 percent renewable energy supply is feasible, GP JOULE is now a system provider for integrated energy solutions from sun, wind and biomass as well as a partner at the supply level for electricity, heat, hydrogen and electromobility. GP JOULE is thus a pioneering company in sector coupling. Around 400 people work for the medium-sized group of companies in Germany, Europe and North America. GP JOULE is the recipient of the Schleswig-Holstein Business Environment Award 2019 and the German Renewables Award 2020.
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