The public sector

Municipal utilities and hydrogen: climate-neutral energy generation

Municipal utilities and local authorities need experienced partners.

For many municipal utilities, municipal hydrogen is increasingly coming into focus as a sustainable solution for energy supply. Triggered by the EU's Green Deal, the German government has made decisions that will lead to a fundamental reorganisation of the entire German energy supply. The federal government is pursuing the goal of further advancing the integration and use of renewable energies to decarbonise all energy-intensive sectors using hydrogen. To this end, the federal government adopted the National Hydrogen Strategy in 2020 and provided funding totalling several billion euros for research, development and production.

Andreas Feicht, former State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, emphasised the objective: "In Germany, we want to exploit the opportunities offered by hydrogen as an energy source and energy storage medium in order to become greenhouse gas-neutral and fulfil our international responsibility to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Our aim is also to utilise the economic opportunities associated with hydrogen technologies."

However, the decision to implement the energy transition presents complex tasks for decision-makers who bear political responsibility in municipalities and federal states. It is not made any easier by the fact that numerous political issues that are a prerequisite for the market ramp-up of a hydrogen economy have not yet been sufficiently clarified.

It is therefore essential to consider import strategies for hydrogen if municipal utilities are to be supplied with hydrogen. The HydroHub is advising German harbour cities and various municipal utilities that want to implement hydrogen as a new energy source.

The HydroHub is a competent partner for public clients and politicians, offering them advice and access to the excellent 360° expertise of various TÜV NORD GROUP companies with services for consulting, engineering and training.

Municipal utilities and hydrogen: open questions that we address as consultants

Supplying municipal utilities with hydrogen as the energy source of the future is undoubtedly a promising concept. The energy transition's beacon of hope can burn with almost zero emissions and can be stored, transported and converted into electricity as required. The first steps towards supplying municipal utilities with hydrogen are promising, but a different framework is needed to scale up volumes on an industrial scale. In the current market design, a hydrogen ramp-up would still mean high costs and insufficient capacities in many places.

There is also a lack of incentives from CO₂ certificate trading that could accelerate the switch to hydrogen by municipal utilities. Certificate trading would give policymakers an additional tool to determine where the highest demand for hydrogen exists. This would then be a valid indicator to accelerate the connection of these locations to a national hydrogen network and drive forward the supply of hydrogen to municipal utilities.

The industry is also waiting for reliable commitments from politicians in order to create convincing arguments for investors now. And to give a targeted boost to the European hydrogen trade, which is forecast to be worth 120 billion euros by 2050.

Municipalities, local authorities, public authorities and legislators are faced with the challenge of creating the necessary framework conditions for the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in line with the speed of technological developments. A task that must also be carried out in accordance with European regulations and standards.

The HydroHub supports municipal utilities that want to use hydrogen as an energy source in implementing their energy transition. The portfolio includes technical studies, environmental protection reports and concepts for site development and import strategies, as well as the financial viability of projects and the advantages and disadvantages of political decisions in solving climate protection challenges.

Hydrogen public utilities: neutral advice for informed decision-makers

The HydroHub supports state governments in the field of municipal hydrogen and also public utilities in the field of hydrogen with holistically validated recommendations for action that can be used as a basis for decision-making for political action geared towards sustainability. This special expertise is based on comprehensive knowledge and experience from advising market participants along the entire hydrogen value chain.

Let's work together to achieve what is possible for your region. Please contact us and we will put together a team of experts to advise you as an energy supplier on hydrogen and its potential for a sustainable energy supply.

Energy suppliers and hydrogen: paving the way for the energy carrier of the future

There is no shortage of examples of innovative and beneficial hydrogen projects in the municipal environment. In order to implement projects with hydrogen at municipal level, municipalities can take inspiration from the projects initiated by municipal utilities and companies. Many municipal utilities are already in the process of developing their hydrogen supply. Be it public transport with hydrogen propulsion or heat and power supply (e.g. electrolysers with electricity from municipal power plants). Cities that are in the process of realisation or are about to do so include Wuppertal, Bielefeld, Essen, Leipzig and Überlingen.

In cooperation with Siemens AG Smart Infrastructure, Stadtwerke Schweinfurt has implemented the "H2MegaHub" hydrogen project. This project aims to supply the port of Schweinfurt with environmentally friendly energy. The hydrogen produced at the port can be used for both hydrogen mobility and industrial processes. This opens up the prospect of the port of Schweinfurt initially operating largely and later (possibly) completely emission-free.

The amount of hydrogen produced by the municipal utilities is still to be increased; the focus here is on greater efficiency and energy supply for the plant. On the one hand, the optimisation measures are useful for improving the energy supply in the entire port of Schweinfurt. On the other hand, the optimisation measures offer the possibility of supplying energy beyond the port of Schweinfurt, for example by feeding part of the energy generated into Schweinfurt's public electricity, gas and heating grids.

The HydroHub provides extensive advice and support to municipal utilities for hydrogen projects such as the "H2MegaHub". Just as is the case in Schweinfurt, you too can work with your municipal utilities to integrate hydrogen technologies at locations of your choice. Initially limited to the energy supply at individual locations, the hydrogen technologies used in cooperation with the municipal utilities can be expanded with the support of the HydroHub and even combined with other technologies.

How all this works and how you can switch to hydrogen as an energy source in your municipalities or municipal utilities can be clarified as part of a competent and customised consultation with our experts. Please do not hesitate to contact us.