The City of Hagen is participating in a funded project on the hydrogen economy together with various partners. The aim of the HyExpert project is to develop an implementable overall concept for a regional hydrogen economy in the Hagen area. A regional forum on the project attracted great interest.
As part of the HyLand funding from the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr), the City of Hagen is aiming to become one of the main regions driving the hydrogen economy in Germany. By the end of 2023, not only a theoretical concept will be created, but a concrete roadmap for the hydrogen ramp-up in Hagen will be developed and specific project milestones tackled. The concept will show ways to implement hydrogen applications in companies. With the regional forum, the first building block has now been laid.
Regional forum meets with great interest
“With the help of our newly emerging hydrogen region, we will succeed in both decarbonising our energy system and positioning the local economy for the future,” says Mayor Erik O. Schulz, emphasising his ambitions for a advancing hydrogen economy in the Hagen region during the regional forum held within the walls of the FernUniversität (distance learning university).
“The findings are clear: Hagen needs green hydrogen to remain attractive as an industrial and logistics location. The HyExperts project is an important building block for the hydrogen ramp-up in the Hagen area, which we support together with our regional partners in dialogue with the companies,” added Dr. Christopher Schmitt, Managing Director of HAGEN.WIRTSCHAFTSENTWICKLUNG economic development body.
Around 40 experts had the opportunity to exchange innovative ideas and their own experiences about hydrogen production and infrastructure as well as the distribution of hydrogen at the regional forum. The project consortium, consisting of institutions from industry and science, has set itself the goal of actively involving experts and interested parties in the conceptual work and promoting the exchange and networking around the field of the hydrogen economy at the local level.
Potentials of the Hagen HyExpert region
The City of Hagen offers potential for the development of a hydrogen economy, which will not only be relevant in the region. “The existing logistics location of Hagen offers the opportunity to build a hydrogen economy that decarbonises logistics as well as heavy goods transport locally,” said project manager Shaun Pick at the regional forum. In particular, the steel processing location of Hagen can benefit from hydrogen in the future and make energy-intensive processes more climate-friendly. As a result, the Hagen region has the optimal conditions for achieving a significant milestone on the road to a hydrogen economy in Germany.
The development of the Hagen region as a hydrogen region is being funded with a total of 400,000 euros by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr) as part of the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP2). The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (PtJ).
Image: At a regional forum, Lord Mayor Erik O. Schulz (centre), Erik Höhne (Spokesperson of the Board of ENERVIE Südwestfalen Energie und Wasser AG, 7th from left), Dr Christopher Schmitt (Managing Director of HAGEN.WIRTSCHAFTSENTWICKLUNG, 10th from left) and Shaun Pick (Project Manager, 11th from left) exchanged views on Hagen’s future as a hydrogen region. Photo: Charlien Schmitt/City of Hagen