The “HyDrive OWL” hydrogen model region is growing. The project partners, the districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübbecke and the city of Bielefeld, are now cooperating with the Ostwestfalen-Lippe districts - Gütersloh, Herford, Höxter and Paderborn. This will enable the region to benefit from synergy effects and to tackle the issue of an area-wide network for the production and use of hydrogen.

The demands for the production and use of hydrogen are now being recorded in the entire region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe. By taking a holistic view of the infrastructure, a sustainable, conclusive concept will be created. Such cooperation is also important for the next step of the project: moving from the concept to the concrete implementation of production sites and filling stations.

The districts of Gütersloh, Herford, Höxter and Paderborn intend to use the HyDrive project to systematically examine producers, logistics and users in their districts. The analysis will take local needs and obstacles into consideration. In addition, expert discussions will be organised over the next few weeks to facilitate the exchange of information among the different stakeholders.

 

Background:

With its HyDrive OWL project, the district of Lippe (as coordinator) together with the city of Bielefeld and the district of Minden-Lübbecke, successfully participated in the federal “HyLand – Hydrogen Regions in Germany” competition. The partners have commissioned the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE to implement the project. Since February 2021, the districts of Gütersloh, Herford, Höxter and Paderborn have also been cooperating in the project. In the future, energielenker projects GmbH will act as a link to the coordinators, Fraunhofer ISE and the newly acquired partner regions.

Currently, strategic research is being conducted into how hydrogen can be produced and used sustainably. The project partners are assessing the technical and economic feasibility in their respective regions. The focus is on regional value chains. A feasible concept should be in place by July 2021. Therefore, participants from production, storage and distribution as well as consumers of hydrogen are already involved. More than 35 companies from the region are meanwhile participating in the project. Their needs and requirements are being collected at on-site meetings, interviews and workshops. With this concept, Ostwestfalen-Lippe intends to develop into a hydrogen model region with the corresponding infrastructure.

The realisation of the “HyDrive OWL” project is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure within the framework of the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP2) with a total of 300,000 euros. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by the project administrator Projektträger Jülich (PtJ). “HyDrive OWL” is one of 15 HyExpert regions in Germany.