H2-BER – Construction and operation of a wind hydrogen production facility and the world’s first carbon neutral refuelling station (CEP)

The project aims to test and demonstrate the feasibility of supplying energy based on renewable sources in a safe, reliable and sustainable manner. For this purpose, the associated companies will construct and operate a wind park with 40 wind turbines, a wind hydrogen production facility as well as the world’s first carbon neutral refuelling station on land provided by TOTAL in the direct vicinity of BER airport.

Depending on network loads, power produced by the wind park will be partly used for the production of carbon free hydrogen. Besides the wind park, the multienergy station also incorporates an on-site wind hydrogen production facility (electrolysis, compression, storage) with a modular extendable capacity from 0.5 t to 1 t of hydrogen per day. The hydrogen production facility thereby serves as a demonstration facility for optimised load and uptake management of the fluctuating wind energy from a purpose-built wind park. The hydrogen stored on site will primarily be used for refuelling vehicles in the adjacent TOTAL refuelling station. As such, the project integrates seamlessly into the strategic plans of the H₂ Mobility Initiative and the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) for the step-by-step expansion of hydrogen infrastructure.

Furthermore, as part of an integrated load management system, the stored hydrogen can be alternatively delivered to other customers by trailer, or even be used for heating and electricity of the facility in the combined heat and power plant. A solid hydrogen storage container of a size never before delivered by manufacturer McPhy, will enable the intermediate storage of up to 100 kg of hydrogen and therefore ensure the combined heat and power plant from manufacturer 2G is supplied with sufficient amounts of renewably produced gas. The thermal performance of the mixed gas combined heat and power plant will be used to heat the refuelling station building and the water of the affiliated carwash and washing bays.

The associated companies combine their respective competencies within this project and thereby enable the integration of several current topics of the future in a single facility. ENERTRAG supplies its experiences in the areas of wind energy and electrolysis, Linde is responsible for the area of hydrogen handling and storage, while TOTAL contributes its extensive experience in the construction and operation of hydrogen refuelling stations.

The technological, economic and organisational prerequisites for the commercial operation of wind hydrogen systems in the medium term will be identified and evaluated within this project. Besides integrating wind hydrogen in the existing energy infrastructure, the involved partners particularly aim to promote the conceptual and technological system development of an economical provision of energy for fuel cell vehicles, within this project.

As such, the participating companies are advancing the following primary aspects in the project:

• Demonstration of regional energy supply structures, particularly with the aim of decarbonisation and the consolidation of renewable energy
• Coupling of renewable energy and innovative mobility applications through the production of hydrogen as a fuel from wind energy
• Demonstration of the dynamic operation of electrolysis, compression of hydrogen and storage depending on the prevailing wind
• Joint testing of the interaction between individual facility components
• Assessment of strategies to stabilise the electricity network through the storage of excess wind energy and the demand-oriented reconversion in combined heat and power plants
• Expansion of the possibilities for energy storage and distribution by connecting to electricity and gas networks allowing the feeding in of wind hydrogen produced via electrolysis
• Identification and realisation of technological and operational optimisation potentials of the technical facilities for dynamic operation
• Development and testing of operational and marketing strategies
• Standardisation and definition of interfaces between the plant components in order to establish modular concepts at BER airport
• Fostering the acceptance of this new type of technology through its demonstration in a project with a high degree of public exposure