Hydrogen technologies are making a significant contribution to the success of the energy transition. In order to further advance a green hydrogen economy, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding three hydrogen lighthouse projects with up to 740 million euros. Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are contributing their expertise to all three. The projects focus on ways to produce green hydrogen and its derivatives directly at sea, new technologies and solutions in the field of hydrogen transportation and the series production of electrolysis plants for the production of green hydrogen using renewable electrical energy.
Green hydrogen can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is a key element on the path to climate neutrality in Germany by 2045. For example, hydrogen can be used as a fuel, auxiliary and basic material in industry and can be converted into electricity and heat using fuel cells to supply homes with electricity and heat. Hydrogen can also be used as a fuel or as a raw material in the production of synthetic fuels for trucks, trains, ships and airplanes. Together with partners from industry, science and associations from all over Germany, KIT scientists are working in the three lead projects to significantly advance the necessary technologies: H₂Mare is investigating ways of producing green hydrogen and its downstream products directly at sea using wind turbines; in TransHyDE, the partners involved are developing, evaluating and demonstrating hydrogen-based technologies and solutions for hydrogen transportation; and H₂Giga is researching the series production of water electrolysers, i.e. systems for generating hydrogen using electricity.
"If we want to massively reduce CO₂ emissions and master the energy transition, hydrogen is an indispensable tool. With its decades of experience in the field of hydrogen, ranging from basic research to very specific applications, KIT is making a decisive contribution here," says KIT President Professor Holger Hanselka. "We are contributing this expertise to the federal government's flagship projects and creating new synergies together with the stakeholders from research, politics and society in order to find solutions quickly."
H₂Mare: Hydrogen production at sea
Offshore wind farms, i.e. wind turbines at sea, are an important addition to onshore wind farms and are currently being driven forward at full speed worldwide. Due to the consistently good wind conditions at sea and the high number of full-load hours, the energy yield offshore is significantly higher than on land. The H₂Mare flagship project is laying the foundations for offshore wind energy to be used directly without a grid connection, for example to produce green hydrogen via water electrolysis. The aim is to reduce the cost of green hydrogen and increase its cost-effectiveness. "At KIT, we are researching how we can produce easily transportable products such as liquefied methane, liquid hydrocarbons, methanol and ammonia for the chemical industry or for fuels directly on site from the green hydrogen produced on an offshore platform," says Professor Roland Dittmeyer from the Institute of Micro Process Engineering (IMVT) at KIT. "We are using our Power-to-X plant complex in the Energy Lab 2.0 at KIT to test the dynamic operation of Power-to-X plants directly connected to offshore wind farms." The transportable, container-based research platform e XPlore, which KIT has developed together with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), will also enable the first realistic test operation of a complete Power-to-X process chain in a maritime environment.
KIT is involved in H₂Mare together with the IMVT, which is also coordinating one of the four joint projects with "PtX-Wind", and the Engler-Bunte Institute (EBI).
TransHyDE: transport solutions for green hydrogen
Hydrogen is rarely used where it is produced. In order to meet demand in Germany, most of it has to be transported from windy and sunny regions or imported. This is why the TransHyDE lead project is researching and developing transportation technologies and infrastructure for green hydrogen. "Liquid hydrogen also has the highest energy density with the highest purity. At KIT, we use the energy and coldness of liquid hydrogen by combining it with electrotechnical applications, such as in energy transport with high-temperature superconductors or in the drive trains of vehicles," says Professor Tabea Arndt from the Institute of Technical Physics (ITEP) at KIT. The use of high-temperature superconductors makes it possible to transport electrical energy and chemical energy in parallel in an energy-efficient manner. "We are also developing safety strategies for materials and handling beyond industrial facilities," says Arndt. At the KIT facilities, scientists can research and implement the entire chain from hydrogen liquefaction to energy applications in electrical engineering and fuel cell heating systems.
KIT is involved with the Institute of Technical Physics (ITEP), which coordinates the joint project "AppLHy!" for liquid hydrogen transport within TransHyDE, as well as with the Institute for Applied Materials - Materials Science (IAM-WK), the Institute for Thermal Energy Technology and Safety (ITES) and the Electrotechnical Institute (ETI).
H₂Giga: Series production of electrolyzers for hydrogen production
Green hydrogen can be produced by electrolysis using renewable energies and used as an energy carrier in a variety of ways. However, the production of electrolysers, i.e. systems for generating hydrogen using electricity, is complex and cost-intensive. The H₂Giga lead project aims to enable their mass and cost-effective production in order to meet Germany's demand for green hydrogen. KIT is involved in two joint projects within the technology platform.
In the "HTEL-Stacks - Ready for Gigawatt" consortium, the participants want to develop stacks, i.e. cell stacks, for high-temperature electrolysis and the associated production processes and systems. "Electrolysis at high temperatures requires less cost-intensive electrical energy and the additional thermal energy required can be covered by the heat loss generated in the cell. With high-temperature electrolysis, efficiencies of up to 100 percent can then be achieved; current systems already achieve over 80 percent," says Dr. André Weber from the Institute for Applied Materials - Electrochemical Technologies (IAM-ET) at KIT. "We at KIT are analyzing the performance and service life of the high-temperature cells and stack components primarily using electrochemical and electron microscopic methods." Sunfire GmbH is coordinating the project.
The second group, "Stack Scale-up - Industrialization of PEM Electrolysis", is developing new stack technologies and production processes suitable for large-scale production for low-temperature electrolysis. This electrolysis via polymer electrolyte membrane cells (PEM cells) is characterized by low operating temperatures and a high power density. "At KIT, we characterize and model these electrochemically and in terms of fluid dynamics. With the help of model-based optimizations, we then want to develop new, more powerful stack designs," says Weber. The alliance is being coordinated by Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co.
In addition to the IAM-ET, the KIT's Laboratory for Electron Microscopy (LEM) and the Institute of Fluid Mechanics (ISTM) are also involved in the projects.
