As one the first hydrogen regions in the HyLand funding programme of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), the district of Schaumberg presented its concept in March of 2020.

Over a period of about one year it was analysed whether the district is suitable for the establishment of and entry into a hydrogen economy and whether there is enough potential and sufficient players in the region to implement this. The result was positive and varied. The approach describes an integrated concept that demonstrates all stages, from hydrogen production, storage and transport to use in different application areas. There were two special features compared to the currently most observed approaches: hydrogen production from biogenic material and the inclusion of heat demand in building complexes and neighbourhoods. The results were mapped into thematic clusters that show how a hydrogen economy can develop in the region by 2030 and what this then can look like.

Almost a decade will be used to demonstrate and validate the potential of hydrogen and fuel cell technology in the most diverse projects and at various locations in the district of Schaumberg. The players in the district should share their experiences and together, learn from successes and failures in order to recognize where the relevant strengths lie and where there is potentially room for improvement. Not only companies and educational institutions should be involved in this process, but the population itself should also be actively integrated.

Along with representatives of the district, Projektbüro Spillet, Parliamentary State Secretary Steffen Bilger from the Federal Transport Ministry, Lower Saxony’s Minister for the Environment Olaf Lies and representing NOW GmbH, Tilman Wilhelm participated at the event for the results presentation on 25 March. The event was broadcast as a webstream so that participating players from the hydrogen network, interested citizens as well as representatives from district, state and federal political levels were able to participate.

Further information on the district of Schaumberg hydrogen region:

www.klimaschutz-schaumburg.de/wasserstoffregion-schaumburg-abschluss-des-hystarter-projekts