The next HyStarter at the finishing line: With the KielRegion, the third participant in the HyLand funding programme of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) presented its concept for entering the green hydrogen economy at the beginning of May 2021 and is now poised to take the next step.

Following Schaumburg district and Rügen-Stralsund, the Kiel region is the third participant in the BMVI’s HyLand funding programme to present its plans for the future with green hydrogen after a one-year concept phase. The focus for the region, which in addition to the state capital Kiel includes the districts of Plön and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, was on questions of climate protection, heat supply, electricity storage, mobility and regional value creation. The results show that a self-sufficient supply of hydrogen for the KielRegion by 2030 is not a utopian dream and that hydrogen from the region should also be used in the region.

The regional hydrogen strategy is the result of numerous analyses, workshops and interviews, and is based on four key findings. The two goals of climate and environmental protection and regional value creation can only be achieved in the long term with green hydrogen. The long-term process was laid down in a hydrogen roadmap. Thus, by 2030, the Kiel region should be able to be self-sufficient in the supply of hydrogen, even with high demand. And lastly, identified project approaches and theoretical calculations show that urban and rural structures complement each other. Based on the foundation created by the HyStarter project, the region intends to take the next step and is seeking funding as a HyExpert in order to develop concrete project ideas.

In addition to the representatives of the KielRegion, regional stakeholders participated in the planning, including public utilities companies Stadtwerke Kiel, Stadtwerke Plön, Versorgungsbetriebe Bordesholm and Abfallwirtschaftsbetriebe Rendsburg along with the Kiel Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Seehafen Kiel, HanseWerk AG and NAH.SH. Industry experts from the companies Spilett, Choice, Becker-Büttner-Held Consulting, EE Engineers and the Reiner Lemoine Institute assisted the region with the concept. The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) covered 100 percent of the costs as part of the HyLand initiative.

Further information can be found on the KielRegion website: www.kielregion.de/wasserstoff