Ressort Presse

• 26.06.2023

Germany is to become a hydrogen republic - and the Centre for Fuel Cell Technology is a pivotal point in this process. It is not only the economy on the Rhine and Ruhr that benefits.

Joachim Jungsbluth enters his improvised office at the Centre for Fuel Cell Technology (ZBT) on the Duisburg campus. Opposite his desk is a kitchenette where a colleague is making tea. Space is currently in short supply at the ZBT and the price for the rapid success.

The engineer takes it calmly. He is the authorised representative of the ZBT for the development of the new Technology and Innovation Centre for Hydrogen. It was given its new name in May: The Hydrogen Proving Area, TrHy for short (pronounced like the English "try"), and it is being built on the grounds of Hüttenwerke Krupp-Mannesmann (HKM) in the south of Duisburg. Jungsbluth also has an office there. All to himself.

"We have been working for 20 years towards hydrogen becoming a key technology," the expert explains. Like many at the ZBT, however, he had believed in an earlier breakthrough. It was only when the energy transition was proclaimed that hydrogen moved into the focus of politics and business. Now it is to replace fossil fuels in the long term and serve as a storage medium for renewable energies. Hydrogen produced in a climate-friendly way makes it possible to reduce CO2 emissions - especially in industry and transport.

Technologically, not everything is yet understood about the large-scale use of green hydrogen and the further development of products. Basic research therefore also has an important role to play. Where do we get the hydrogen? Where do we store it? How do we distribute it? Answers to such questions are sought - and found - by Dorothee Lemken; she is a scientist at the ZBT in the "Hydrogen Infrastructure" department. She has investigated, for example, how hydrogen can be transported across borders on the Rhine. "The most economically sensible variant is to bunker it on the ships in swap containers. Such containers can be quickly exchanged between transport vehicles, and the contents do not have to be reloaded either," says the 53-year-old.

Another important area at the ZBT deals with the quality of the new energy carrier. The laboratory for quality analysis is unique in Europe, because here the smallest foreign components can be detected: "Not all hydrogen is the same," Jungsbluth explains. For use in a fuel cell in a car or bus, for example, it must be purer than in the steel industry. This is due to the temperatures at which it is "burnt". However, these should not exceed 85 °C in the automotive sector; considerably higher temperatures are necessary for use in blast furnaces.

The innovative research at the ZBT is internationally renowned. Consequently, in autumn 2021 the Federal Ministry of Transport chose the university's affiliated institute as one of only four locations nationwide for a national hydrogen centre. The TrHy is to be funded by the federal government with 60 million euros, and the state will add another 50 million euros. By 2025, Duisburg will be a hotspot for the hydrogen industry, with the participation of renowned industrial partners such as Rheinmetall and HKM as well as RWTH Aachen University and the Jülich Research Centre. Thus, the Who's Who of hydrogen research and industry will meet in Duisburg in the future. New companies are likely to settle here and jobs will be created.

Unique test stands

"With TrHy we want to fill existing gaps in order to quickly ramp up the market for hydrogen," Jungsbluth affirms, nodding to two colleagues who are helping themselves to coffee. Research and development are to take place at the partners', the TrHy takes over the reality check on a large scale: "If you want to build a hydrogen economy, you have to test products in a suitable environment," says the 53-year-old.

The test field in front of the building is unique in Europe; here, all technical processes and actions can be analysed and controlled that will occur at hydrogen filling stations in the future - safety has priority. Here, for example, dispensers for hydrogen can be tested for their practicality. Different storage tanks operate at different pressures. Up to now, cars can be refuelled quickly with the maximum of 900 bar, while the pressure for filling trucks is still less than half that. In the future, the technology is to be improved so that trucks and buses can be supplied with large quantities in a short time.

Work is also to be done on establishing rules and standards for hydrogen in the hall on the HKM premises. Training and further education are another component of the concept. For many occupational groups that will have to deal with hydrogen in the future, the energy carrier has not played a major role so far. The new hydrogen education centre is planned as a joint project right next to TrHy. Partners are ZBT, Kraftwerksschule Essen (KWS), the city and the port of Duisburg.

For Joachim Jungsbluth, it is logical that big things are happening in his home town. "It is the largest steel location in Europe and also has the largest inland port. It has made a name for itself as an international logistics hub with good connections to the water, road and rail networks. So when it comes to hydrogen, there is no way around Duisburg in the future."