ABO Energy inaugurated its first hydrogen project in Hünfeld-Michelsrombach today. The plant consists of a wind turbine, a 5-megawatt electrolyzer and a hydrogen filling station with trailer filling. According to the company, it will produce up to 450 tons of certified green hydrogen per year.
The plant was completed after a construction period of around 13 months. It is part of the HyWheels hydrogen cluster and was funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV) with a total of twelve million euros as part of the National Innovation Program for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP). The funds also come from the German Development and Resilience Plan (DARP) and the EU NextGenerationEU program. The project is coordinated by NOW GmbH and the project sponsor is Forschungszentrum Jülich (PtJ).
Certified green hydrogen
According to ABO Energy, the plant is one of the first in Germany to produce certified green hydrogen. The electrolysis is powered by electricity from the neighboring wind turbine. The hydrogen filling station is designed for refueling vehicles and filling trailers for further distribution. The partner company ABO Kraft & Wärme is responsible for operating the filling station. “The plant is unique in this form in Germany and one of the first projects to produce certified green hydrogen,” said Jochen Ahn, co-founder of ABO Energy, at the opening ceremony. Green hydrogen is crucial for the transformation of the energy system, Ahn continued: “Only green hydrogen will help us to transform the energy system sustainably and achieve our goal of reaching greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045.”
Many years of project development
The project idea was developed within ABO Energy's Future Energies department, which was founded twelve years ago. Initial analyses and feasibility studies were carried out as part of the HyWheels cluster. ABO Energy was recently awarded the BSFZ seal of approval by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for its commitment to the hydrogen sector.
The town of Hünfeld has supported the project from the very beginning. Mayor Benjamin Tschesnok said at the inauguration: “When ABO Energy first contacted us four years ago, we really wanted to be part of this lighthouse project.”
