Hydrogen Technology Expo in Bremen: Why the world looks to the Hanseatic city when it comes to hydrogen.
The Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe is the largest supplier trade fair for hydrogen technologies. It takes place every year in September in Bremen. Also in 2023, the who’s who of the industry will meet in the Hanseatic city from September 27th to 28th.
Then up to 8,000 visitors and 450 exhibiting companies will greet each other with a “Moin!”, a “Salut”, “How are you?” or “Konnichiwa”. In Bremen since 2021, the trade fair is a fixed address in the industry’s calendar.
In addition to industry-leading companies such as Air Liquide from France, Linde from Germany and NEL from Norway, companies from mechanical engineering, supply, electrical engineering, transport and automation will be showing their latest activities, projects and products. This also includes the usage (e.g. in the chemical industry) and storage (e.g. in old gas fields).
The exhibition area is accompanied by an extensive conference program with almost 200 lectures from all areas of the hydrogen and carbon capture economy. Here, CEOs, CTOs and chief engineers of the well-known companies in the industry give each other the microphone and are available for questions in the plenary session or over a coffee.
The Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe 2022 in figures
Get hydrogen on the way
They all have one goal in common: advancing the hydrogen economy. Climate-neutral hydrogen is considered a key building block on the way to a low-CO2 future. For the chemical industry, steel production, for transport tasks in shipping and air traffic, the volatile gas will be the central energy source of the future, whether directly as a gas or via process steps as an e-fuel – also one of the five main topics of the trade fair and conference.
To do this, the global energy systems must be massively restructured. The classification society DNV sees a global investment requirement of 6.8 trillion US dollars by 2050. With the goal of producing green hydrogen for one dollar per kilogram by 2050, global demand will increase exponentially from 2030 at the latest, according to analyzes by pwc.
But even up to 2030, the global hydrogen economy will grow strongly, driven by new technical developments and investment programs that pave the way for the technology.
Charlie Brandon, Event Director of Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe, said:
Hydrogen is now and will be the global issue for years to come.
“The next few years look incredibly exciting. We hope our exhibition can help develop key technologies and reduce costs for suppliers. This is how a functioning hydrogen economy becomes more and more a reality every year.”
Hydrogen Technology Expo 2022 – under the sign of international cooperation
In 2022, the Hydrogen Expo in Bremen took a big step in this direction. With record numbers of 6,500 participants and 350 exhibiting companies, the number of visitors doubled and made it the largest hydrogen trade fair for suppliers in the world.
Great attention was paid to international exchange – because with the end of most travel restrictions, the number of international visitors also increased significantly.
Hans-Georg Tschupke, Head of the Innovation, Industry, Digitization Department of the Senator for Economics, Labor and Europe, said:
The development of a hydrogen economy can only succeed on a global scale.
“We therefore want to stimulate international networks and cooperations that are anchored here in Bremen as early as possible. In the tradition of the Hanseatic League, which connected the North Sea region for centuries, the trade fair in Bremen brings the world together on the subject of hydrogen.”
Bremen enters into H2 partnerships with Norway, England and the Netherlands
For example, the Bremen Senator for Economics, Labor and Europe, Kristina Vogt, welcomed the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway, Torgeir Larsen, to Bremen on the occasion of the trade fair. They had already met in mid-June 2022 at the 1st German-Norwegian Hydrogen Forum in Hamburg, during which closer cooperation between Bremen and the other northern German states and Norway was also agreedbecame.
The business development agencies of Norway and Bremen also signed a memorandum of understanding on future cooperation. In the same month, a delegation trip to Norway organized by the Bremen Chamber of Commerce took place.
Another international exchange took place as part of the “North Meets North Hydrogen Dialogue” during the Expo. Together with the British Department of Commerce, the North German hydrogen initiative organized HY-5the meeting.
Both regions face similar challenges, for example in the existing heavy industry, but also have similar structural opportunities due to their location and innovation potential. With a large joint stand, Great Britain will also play an important role at the fair in 2023 and the presence of numerous actors offers the opportunity to continue the dialogue started last year.
Closer cooperation between Bremen and the Dutch city of Groningen had already been agreed the year before. The Mayor of Groningen, Koen Schuilling, was also represented at the fair and a delegation of scientific institutions and companies accompanying him was able to exchange ideas intensively with local companies and network at the fair in a “Bremen meets Groningen Workshop” organized at the same time.
Karsten Schmitt, consultant at the hydrogen economy office, said:
There is a high level of interest in international exchange.
“We also have that in the business matchmaking of the Enterprise Europe Network(EEN) during the fair, at which more than 435 meetings took place.”
In 2023, the international scale will increase significantly again. Larger joint stands will be represented solely from Korea, the Kobe region in Japan, the Netherlands and the UK. The “world map” of hydrogen is therefore filling up. Japan is of particular interest as a hydrogen location, after all 24 percent of all hydrogen patents granted between 2011 and 2020 originate from there.
Industry meets at Hydrogen Technology Expo
The numerous companies at the trade fair were also enthusiastic about the high level of professional interest, above all Bremen participants such as ENGINIUS. The manufacturer of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles exhibited the chassis of such a vehicle in the exhibition hall, which with an EU type approval can be used immediately as a refuse collection vehicle or for heavy goods traffic, and was therefore a clear magnet for visitors.
Claudia Schaue, Head of Marketing & Communication at the parent company FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG. ENGINIUS already produces 100 vehicles a year, said:
We are delighted to be part of the Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe with our H2 trucks from ENGINIUS.
“It makes us proud, as a Bremen company, to welcome the hydrogen economy to Bremen. networking, sharing, exploring and discovering; True to the Bremen motto “buten un binnen, dare un winn”.
Charlie Brandon not only noticed this enthusiasm for the fair during the fair: “As a little anecdote: I fondly remember the evening before the fair, when the city of Bremen hosted a reception in the historic town hall. This was a fantastic networking opportunity and allowed us to start the show with a great high level experience. It was great to see so many familiar and new faces in Bremen.”
Preview of 2023 – the Hydrogen Technology Expo is growing
Brandon is certain that this enthusiasm will return again this year. The trade fair director expects significant growth to up to 450 exhibiting companies and more than 8,000 international visitors in 2023, who will have free entry to the exhibition halls. In order to cope with the growth, two additional exhibition halls are rented.
In addition to companies, scientific institutes can also be found here. Because research projects between industry and science provide the decisive impetus for progress in the use of hydrogen.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) can do the same.confirm. The Bremen Institute used the 2022 trade fair to provide information about current projects at its own stand:
“The Hydrogen Technology Expo is an ideal place to exchange ideas with experts from the hydrogen economy. Fraunhofer IFAM has been active in the hydrogen economy for many years as a research and development partner for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. It is therefore something special for us to be able to welcome the national and international hydrogen community on site and to present Bremen’s hydrogen competencies,” explains Dr. Florian Sayer, Head of Energy at IFAM.
Bremen as an ideal location for the hydrogen industry
There are good reasons why the 2021 trade fair found its new home in Bremen. Because the location combines many of the disciplines that are relevant for the hydrogen future: Know-how in materials science, in the aerospace sector, in the maritime and automotive sectors, as well as a pioneering role in renewable energies. In addition – in the north as a whole, but also in Bremen – there is an ideal infrastructure with convertible gas networks and caverns to ensure an uninterrupted supply of hydrogen.
Trade fair organizer Brandon: “The strengths of Bremen, Bremerhaven and northern Germany as a whole are of crucial importance for the success of our trade fair. Bremen has set itself ambitious goals in the field of hydrogen. We use the proximity to the North Sea here to open up the surrounding countries for our trade fair.”
“Northern Europe has become synonymous with hydrogen worldwide, as it is here that many of the major carbon capture and hydrogen production projects are located. We are building on that with our world’s largest hydrogen event.”
And in Bremen, too, companies and science are working together on major projects; there is currently a total investment volume of more than 1 billion euros in the field of hydrogen .
The numerous activities are embedded in the north Germanand the Bremen hydrogen strategy . These determine the fairway for the coming years. By 2030, five gigawatts of electrolysis capacity should be created in northern Germany, new test and research centers set up and hydrogen tested in industrial sectors such as steel production or the maritime economy.
They are also part of the Bremen Action Plan for the Climate Economy, which envisages a climate-neutral economy and society in the state by 2038.
Elitsa Pesina, officer at the Bremen Hydrogen Office, said:
The trade fair is a very central component of our strategy.
“Because it brings together the people who will ultimately initiate change. They get to know Bremen, which ultimately benefits both the location and the companies here.”
In 2024 and 2025, the Hydrogen Technology Expo is already a firm fixture in Bremen’s trade fair calendar – the city is thus making a lasting impression on the industry.
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
Hydrogen Technology Expo in Bremen: Why the world looks to the Hanseatic city when it comes to hydrogen, March 27, 2023
