Leuna – The Minister of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, Prof. Armin Willingmann, and the President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, officially handed over the construction of the Hydrogen Lab Leuna (HLL) to the Fraunhofer as part of the "Structural Change Focus Tour". -Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES in the central German area. In addition, Prof. Willingmann presented the notification of funding for the structural change project "Hydrogen Competence Hub" - a central hub for training and further education. With the Hydrogen Lab in Leuna, Fraunhofer IWES is setting the course for innovative research and development for the production and use of green hydrogen in the chemical industry. Hydrogen is a key element in supplying the chemical industry with raw materials, and defossilization, ie switching to green hydrogen along the entire process chain, is essential to achieving climate targets. The Minister for Science, Energy, Climate Protection and the Environment of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, Prof. Willingmann, together with the President of the Fraunhofer Society, Prof. Neugebauer, officially opens the HLL in the chemical park in Leuna after several years of planning and construction: "With the Hydrogen Lab in Leuna, the urgently needed market ramp-up of hydrogen technologies in Saxony-Anhalt and beyond will be accelerated. The highly innovative research facility will make a significant contribution to enabling Saxony-Anhalt to develop into a new powerhouse of a sustainable hydrogen economy. The development of the hydrogen economy is also an important element for the successful design of structural change in the region. With the funding of the "Hydrogen Competence Hub" training and further education project, we are also actively counteracting the shortage of specialists and managers together with the Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, the Otto von Guericke University and the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences," says Minister Prof. Willingmann. "With the development of the chemical and hydrogen site in Leuna, which has been a prosperous nucleus for successful cooperation between science and industry for several years, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is not only showing efficient ways for the energy transition, but also for a successful structural change in Central Germany area up. As one of three Fraunhofer Hydrogen Labs in Germany, the Hydrogen Lab Leuna focuses on research along the value chain of hydrogen production. The green hydrogen produced there is analyzed on site, processed and fed directly into the 157 km long H2 pipeline, from where it is distributed to the industrial sites in the region and used in chemical processes. The new "Hydrogen Competence Hub" also addresses a major challenge that affects all areas: the lack of specialists and managers. Here, too, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft makes an important contribution to structural change through training and further education,” explains Prof. Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The technical center required for the research work in the HLL has been structurally completed and will be handed over to the Fraunhofer IWES by the state of Saxony-Anhalt with the official opening. The interior of the technical center is currently being equipped with the necessary laboratory equipment and systems that are not part of the HLL construction project. "We are very pleased that we can officially take over the HLL and thus have space to set up our extensive test infrastructure. However, the technical center is already fully utilized, so we already have to think about expansions. The scientific work on the first projects has also already begun and we are on the way to a sustainable hydrogen economy in the Leuna Chemical Park, which we will actively support on the research side. In this context, we would like to express our thanks for the funding notice for the "Hydrogen Competence Hub", with which we are making our contribution together with the regional university landscape to the development and maintenance of the urgently needed specialists. With the hub, we are striving for increased permeability between professional and scientific further education in order to be able to cover the needs of industry by acquiring additional qualifications quickly and modularly," adds Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer, Acting Institute Director, Fraunhofer IWES. With the hub, we are striving for increased permeability between professional and scientific further education in order to be able to cover the needs of industry by acquiring additional qualifications quickly and modularly," adds Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer, Acting Institute Director, Fraunhofer IWES. With the hub, we are striving for increased permeability between professional and scientific further education in order to be able to cover the needs of industry by acquiring additional qualifications quickly and modularly," adds Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer, Acting Institute Director, Fraunhofer IWES.

Hydrogen Lab Leuna

In the central German chemical triangle, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is providing a new generation of test infrastructure for hydrogen technologies with the HLL, which is funded by the state of Saxony-Anhalt and the EU. The combination of methodological skills and a unique research infrastructure creates a sustainable joint business model and a new type of cooperation platform for industry and research. Embedded in the material network of the Leuna Chemical Park, the HLL offers four test stands plus a technical center for electrolysers with an output of up to 5 megawatts (MW), which are supplied with deionized water, steam, compressed air, nitrogen, hydrogen and, in the future, also with CO2. The green hydrogen produced is analyzed on site, processed and fed directly into the 157 km long H2 pipeline, from where it is distributed to the region's industrial sites, where it can be used in chemical processes. Fraunhofer IWES owns and operates the infrastructure at the HLL. The construction of the "Hydrogen Lab Leuna" was funded by the state of Saxony-Anhalt and the European Union with a good eight million euros. The total construction volume for the Hydrogen Lab Leuna amounts to over EUR 10 million plus project funding for the test infrastructure.

Two STARK projects will start work next year:

Notification of funding for the "Hydrogen Competence Hub" training and further education project From February 2023, together with the Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, the Otto von Guericke University and the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, work will be carried out for two years to set up a central hub for training and further education. Specifically, a regional education network will be established, but our own further education offers will also be developed. This is intended to strengthen the region's competencies in the field of digital hydrogen technologies and create an increased transfer between professional and scientific further education. Additional qualifications should cover the needs of the industry quickly and modularly. This red-hot and necessary project receives the funding decision and thus 2.5 million. The second project "House of Transfer" as a central contact point for stakeholders from the fields of chemistry, bioeconomy, plastics and hydrogen has set itself the goal of dovetailing the existing activities in the region. Here, for example, technology providers with industrial needs, project ideas with investors and start-ups with experienced players are brought together. A comprehensive range of advice and services is created. The "House of Transfer" has already received a funding decision of €4.6 million on September 28, 2022 and will start work in January.

Focus trip Structural change

As a result of increasing digitization and restructuring in the course of sustainable value creation and the associated economic, ecological and social transformation, numerous regions are facing major economic and social challenges. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft actively supports innovation-driven structural change through networking and the structured development of new value chains. The aim is to put the regions affected by structural change on a dynamic growth path through innovation-promoting measures and thus contribute to reducing regional disparities. As part of the "Structural Change Focus Tour" from November 1 to 7, 2022, scientists from the regionally anchored institutes will demonstrate trend-setting solutions, that are suitable for making a contribution to sustainability and innovative strength in regions affected by structural change. Together with partners from business, science and politics, the topics of security of supply, sustainable manufacturing processes and agriculture are discussed and future technology paths are determined.

About Fraunhofer IWES

Fraunhofer IWES secures investments in technological developments through validation, shortens innovation cycles, accelerates certification processes and increases planning accuracy through innovative measurement methods in the field of wind and hydrogen technology. More than 300 scientists and employees as well as around 150 students are currently employed at nine locations: Bochum, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Leer, Görlitz, Hamburg, Hanover, Leuna and Oldenburg.

Green Hydrogen: "Hydrogen Lab Leuna" Opened at the Leuna Chemical Site