A consortium of EWE and about 90 partners from local authorities, industry, and politics has set itself the goal of promoting use and application of hydrogen from regenerative sources in the north-western metropolitan region in its “Hyways for Future” (Hydrogen ways for future mobility) project in the “HyPerformer” category. The project is to establish climate-friendly hydrogen in the industrial, energy supply, and transport areas. The hydrogen model region focuses on the cities of Cuxhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven, Oldenburg, and Bremen.

The city of Cuxhaven has maintained regular contact on potential projects and approaches for establishing a hydrogen infrastructure with EWE since late 2018. It has now been invited to join the “Hyways for Future” consortium.

The prerequisite for the participation of the city of Cuxhaven in this funding project was to address and mobilise a large number of Cuxhaven companies that have already dealt with the topic of hydrogen or intend to use hydrogen as an energy carrier in the future. The Agentur für Wirtschaftsförderung was able to persuade 18 participants in Cuxhaven to sign corresponding letters of intent for acquisition of around 60 hydrogen-powered cars, commercial and special vehicles, very quickly.

Construction of a hydrogen filling station to fuel up buses, garbage trucks, scooters, beach trams, cars, as well as eventually crab cutters and other vessels, with hydrogen and establish Cuxhaven as a basis for hydrogen use is planned within the framework of the “Hyways for Future” project.

Apart from this, the project application at the wastewater treatment plant in Cuxhaven provides a new and innovative plasma analysis process for hydrogen production. The aeration tank requires the corresponding amount of oxygen and the hydrogen obtained from splitting water is available for use in the mobility sector or for intermediate storage right away.

Potential areas of application also include public supply and waste disposal, the municipal vehicle fleet, tourism via the beach/road railways, public transport, as well as the private sector in the form of port management/logistics, the fishing industry, the transport industry, the construction industry, and warehouse logistics.

The project sketch includes all known activities and plans on hydrogen that have already been started in Cuxhaven. This was required to prove to the evaluation commission that Cuxhaven is prepared to promote hydrogen as a future technology at its site.

The Agentur für Wirtschaftsförderung of the city of Cuxhaven had already applied as a “HyStarter Region” in a first round of calls for proposals by NOW GmbH (Nationale Organisation Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie), which coordinates the Nationales Innovationsprogramm Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie (NIP; National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Innovation Programme) of the German Federal Government. However, Cuxhaven was determined to be “overqualified” for this. This led to the next step to the more highly qualified tendering round with the “Hyways for Future” project.