At the Breezer Aircraft plant in Bredstedt (Dirkshof-Group in Reußenkögen), production capacities are being expanded and a centre of excellence is being built where engineers are also working on developing alternative propulsion systems for Breezer Aircraft aircraft, especially hydrogen drives.
Parallel to this Breezer Aircraft ordered 35 Hyundai Neo hydrogen cars, the first five of which have been delivered. Two of these vehicles will be added Dirkhof’s existing stock, which has consisted of electric vehicles up to now. The project is funded under the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and totals almost 900,000 euros. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (Projektträger Jülich (PtJ)).
Compared to the purchase of a conventional car of these specifications and size, 60 per cent of the added investment costs are funded. The new Hyundai Nexos have a range of 600 km – max. 750km, and can be refuelled in a matter of minutes. A good 6kg of hydrogen is stored in gaseous form in 700 bar pressure tanks stored in the rear of the vehicle. The energy is converted within a fuel cell, which feeds into a backup battery. The Nexo can thus be driven like an electric car.
The H2 stations of the eFarming projects in the North Frisian towns of Husum and Niebüll will be used for refuelling. For the next milestone, the Reußenköge citizen wind park is planning its own hydrogen activities. Another funding approval has already been granted for an electrolyser and its own refuelling station. By the end of 2021, green hydrogen generated from wind energy will be available in the Kögen region.
Interested partners and shareholders of the Reußenköge citizen wind park can be given the cars for a two-year period, after which they will be offered the opportunity to buy them. The vehicles are tax-exempt until 2025.