Chemnitz becomes national hydrogen technology center.
Germany becomes a hydrogen country – and Chemnitz becomes a national hydrogen technology centre. The decision was announced by Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer in a digital press conference on 2 September 2021. The HIC – Hydrogen and Mobility Innovation Center in Chemnitz can now start setting up the hydrogen technology center together with three other German locations.
In addition to Chemnitz, the Duisburg locations, the Northern Germany Ship and Aviation Cluster and Pfeffenhausen will become part of the national hydrogen technology centre. The federal government is funding the development of the centre with a total budget of 290 million euros. For the interested industrial partners, the decision now means planning and investment security for their activities in Chemnitz.
HIC convinces with excellent infrastructure and holistic operator model
In the location competition for the Hydrogen Technology and Innovation Centre of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), Chemnitz was able to convince. At today’s press conference, Federal Transport Minister Scheuer praised Chemnitz as the “diamond” among the locations.
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In particular, the HIC’s excellent research and test infrastructure for fuel cells and hydrogen technologies as well as its extensive network of strong partners were decisive reasons for the BMVI’s decision. For the final site selection, a feasibility study was commissioned, on the basis of which the distribution of focus among the final locations was defined.
Prof. Dr. Thomas von Unwerth, Chairman of the Board of the coordinating HZwo e.V. and Director of the Institute for Automotive Research at Chemnitz University of Technology.
With the HIC, we have developed an operator model that serves small and medium-sized companies, automotive suppliers and industrial companies alike to develop new standards, test products for fuel cell drives and establish them on the international market.
“This is not least due to the fact that with the Technical Universities in Chemnitz and Dresden as well as the Fraunhofer Institutes IWU and ENAS, we have an excellent network of partners whose hydrogen expertise and innovative strength make the HIC so unique,”
“The next phase of implementation will start tomorrow. Together with the industry, we are planning the first concrete activities. And as early as autumn 2021, we will be talking to international companies about forms of cooperation and concrete investments in Chemnitz as part of our acquisition, cooperation and location marketing activities,” says von Unwerth.
Bridge between research and value creation
The new hydrogen center in Chemnitz is to be 37,000 square meters in size. On the Technology Campus in the immediate vicinity of Chemnitz University of Technology, the Fraunhofer Institutes IWU and ENAS as well as test tracks for road and rail vehicles, the HIC will be able to cover the entire value chain from fuel cells to complete vehicles with the help of BMVI funding.
Last but not least, the generous areas on the HIC site also offer great potential for the settlement of further partners.
“Together, we have built a bridge between scientific research, the transfer to disruptive hydrogen technologies and broad industrial value creation by the supplier industry. We are very proud to be able to establish a national hydrogen center with the Hydrogen and Mobility Innovation Center. In this way, we are not only creating potential for future-proof and sustainable mobility, but are also giving our city international significance as a driver of innovation,” says von Unwerth.
HIC bundles innovative strength and expertise of the region
The successful concept of the HIC can be traced back to the cooperation of more than 25 partners. Various small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), automotive suppliers, industrial companies and experts from fuel cell research embody the expertise and innovative capacity of the HIC for the development of value creation based on fuel cells in the mobility sector.
In the immediate vicinity of the HIC site are the Fraunhofer Institutes IWU and ENAS, which are in close contact with the innovation cluster HZwo e.V. as alliance partners.
Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
With the funding of the Technology and Innovation Center for Hydrogen HIC, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure is laying an important foundation for the development of a competitive fuel cell industry in Germany, which will shape the international market.
“The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft welcomes the Federal Government’s decision, as institutes such as Fraunhofer IPT and Fraunhofer IWU are already using their own funds to advance research projects with a focus on hydrogen as an energy source. By bundling scientific expertise and a high degree of application orientation, the prerequisites are created for providing sustainable support to small and medium-sized enterprises in particular in the development, testing and industrialization of technologies and products of the hydrogen economy.”
Free State of Saxony and City of Chemnitz support foundation
In addition to funding from the BMVI, the HIC also receives support from the state and the city.
Michael Kretschmer, Saxony’s Prime Minister is pleased with the BMVI’s decision:
Today’s decision is a huge success for Chemnitz and the whole of Saxony.
“Chemnitz has once again shown what an incredible innovative power and creativity is present here. It is this founding and doer spirit that we need in Germany and Europe that makes us strong and that is good for our prosperity, for economic dynamism and climate protection. The new national hydrogen centre will further strengthen and shape the city itself, but also Saxony and Germany as a location for industry and innovation.”
“I would like to thank all those involved who have contributed to the fact that Chemnitz can contribute its strengths to the national centre. With the HIC, we can help shape the climate-friendly mobility of the future from Saxony and set important impulses to bring new technologies from the laboratory into application.”
Martin Dulig, the Saxon State Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport also praises the decision from Berlin:
Chemnitz has submitted an excellent application.
“Among all the finalists, the ‘Hydrogen and Mobility Innovation Center’ was the best project. Quite rightly, the third largest city in Saxony is now becoming a location of the Federal Hydrogen Center. I am delighted that Federal Minister Scheuer has recognised the HIC project as a ‘diamond’ among the competition participants.”
“In doing so, the federal government is rewarding the hard work and willingness to take risks of Saxony’s research institutions and companies to address the topic of hydrogen at an early stage. The Free State of Bavaria will play a significant role in making Germany the world’s number 1 in green hydrogen production, infrastructure, use and trade. For The high-tech and innovation location Saxony, for the whole of East Germany, there is a great opportunity for hydrogen technology to gain a head start in the East.”
“That is why the Saxon Ministry of Economic Affairs has supported the HIC project from the outset and will continue to support it intensively. The HIC is unique in Europe. It will offer start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises and also large companies the necessary conditions to develop, test and promptly introduce urgently needed ‘clean’ and affordable drive solutions to the market quickly, purposefully and with an open mind.”
“I would be extremely pleased if companies from Germany, Europe and the world would use the opportunities and synergies of this center – also to show that saxony can set the right course together.”
The Free State of Bavaria and the automotive supplier Vitesco Technologies have already invested around eleven million euros in the research and test infrastructure for fuel cells and hydrogen technologies in Chemnitz.
In addition, pioneering networks such as the “Smart Rail Connectivity Campus” in Annaberg-Buchholz will receive funding of more than 24 million euros from the BMVI, the BMBF and the Free State of Saxony for the digitization and automation of rail transport.
Sebastian Gemkow, Saxony’s Minister of State for Science, praises the high proportion of excellent partners from research and science:
With Chemnitz University of Technology, the Fraunhofer Institutes IWU and ENAS as well as TU Dresden.
“Important experts in the research and development of new hydrogen technologies for environmentally friendly mobility of the future are on board. This is crucial for product development. At the same time, the scientific expertise will flow directly into the training and further education of specialists.
This will anchor the recruitment of young talent for the hydrogen economy to be set up from the outset. We will continue to closely accompany and support the participants of the universities and research institutions here.”
Cooperation between hydrogen centres begins immediately
For the HIC in Chemnitz and its consortium partners, the further development and implementation of their model begins immediately after the announcement. To this end, a kick-off meeting is planned with the Duisburg, Pfeffenhausen and the additional ship and aviation cluster in northern Germany in order to define cooperation, tasks and interfaces.
A meeting between Saxon ministries, the city of Chemnitz and the alliance in the coming days is intended to seal the future cooperation and pave the way for the next steps towards implementation.
The first plan includes the concretization of the operator model and the subsequent establishment of the sponsorship. In Chemnitz, the first buildings on the site of the new hydrogen technology center in Saxony are expected to be inaugurated as early as 2024. Until then, it is said: Chemnitz is #Ready4Wasserstoff!
Pressemitteilung Chemnitz wird nationales Wasserstofftechnologiezentrum, Chemnitz, August 28, 2021
