Meppen, 23.07.2021. The Emsland waste management company is demonstrating what the future of mobility looks like. On 19 July, the district administrator of Emsland, Marc-André Burgdorf, presented a funding notification from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) in the amount of €796,000 at the central landfill site in Wesuwe. Provided under the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP II), a hydrogen-operated bulky waste vehicle will be funded which will collect waste in Lingen and Emsbüren from the autumn of 2022. More than 30 tonnes of CO2 can be saved per year by using the CO2-neutral bulky waste vehicle.
“I am delighted that, fittingly on the 25th anniversary of this waste management company, we are taking an important step into the future of mobility together. It is incumbent upon us all to reduce CO2 emissions and stop climate change. As a district, we want to forge ahead and demonstrate that this works”, says Emsland district administrator Marc-André Burgdorf. The new bulky waste vehicle is to be exclusively operated with green, or CO2-neutral hydrogen, produced from renewable energies. “This is already being produced in Werlte in Emsland now and capacities will substantially increase over the coming years through projects like CEC Haren, Lingen Green Hydrogen or GET H2”, explains Burgdorf.
Vehicle will be subsidised in the amount of €796,000
Procurement of the bulky waste vehicle is funded under the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP II) of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (PtJ). In total, 90 per cent of the added costs of the climate-neutral vehicle are subsidised by the State. Using alternative types of drives is an important pillar in implementing the goals of the federal government on CO2 reduction in the transport sector. Particularly in the area of heavy freight transport and utility vehicles, greener hydrogen serves as a climate-friendly alternative to break free from using fossil energy sources such as oil and natural gas. “We want to gradually convert our entire fleet to CO2-neutral drives”, explains Harald Litz, deputy operations manager of the waste management company for the Emsland district. “By switching to this vehicle alone, we are already saving more than 30 tonnes of CO2 per year. That is the equivalent to circumnavigating the globe five times in a large car! While many commercial and municipal companies are still adopting a wait-and-see attitude, we want to gain experience with these new drives now. Other municipal facilities and players can then benefit from this as well.”
Modular adapted vehicle to begin operation in autumn 2022
The project: “COSPEL – CO2-neutral bulky waste collection in Emsland” developed from the close cooperation of the municipality and the H2 region of Emsland within the HyExpert project. Funded by the BMVI in the amount of 300,000 euros, in the HyExpert project a scientific overall concept is developed, from which concrete implementation projects and procurements are conducted as a second step. “The CO2-neutral bulky waste vehicle is an initial practical project which is already being implemented during the HyExpert project”, explains Dr. Tim Husmann, head of the H2-region of Emsland. But not only vehicle procurement is important: “In our HyExperts project, the whole value chain is our focus – from the generation of hydrogen, to refuelling, right up to the consumer. It is only by connecting the chicken and the egg, or linking the refuelling station to the vehicle that is it possible to build hydrogen mobility.”
With the presentation of the funding note, the tender for the hydrogen-operated bulky waste vehicle can begin. In order to acquire a vehicle that suits perfectly, the waste management companies will drive the planned routes over the next three weeks in Lingen and Emsbüren, where the new vehicle will be operating. On the basis of the data collected, the vehicle will be adapted on a modular basis and can begin operation in the district of Emsland in the autumn of 2022.