"Clean hydrogen is the fuel of the energy transition - and central to the decarbonization of our industry. It is therefore important to drive forward research into the potential of this energy of the future. The Salzgitter Hydrogen Campus shows how it can be done: It is the practical example that we are not just talking about climate protection, but also finding solutions for it. And we are doing this by interlinking science on the one hand and production and industry on the other. This will once again turn a future hydrogen economy in Lower Saxony and climate protection into an opportunity for the economy and jobs in the region," said Olaf Lies, Lower Saxony's Minister for the Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection, during his visit.
Stefan Klein, Member of the State Parliament and First Mayor of the City of Salzgitter, welcomed the guests. "With our Hydrogen Campus, we are breaking new ground into a climate-friendly age. Climate-friendly production is a key issue for Salzgitter as Lower Saxony's third-largest industrial location. As a city, we want to work hand in hand with companies and the scientific community to develop Salzgitter and our region into a pioneer in hydrogen technology."
State Commissioner Dr. Ulrike Witt emphasized: "The Office for Regional State Development has been supporting the Salzgitter Hydrogen Campus from the very beginning. Here at this location, we are responding to the structural change in industry with a highly innovative showcase project. The key players in regional development - science, business, the state and local authorities - have made a clear commitment: Together we are tackling the challenges of climate change. This makes the Salzgitter Hydrogen Campus an anchor point for the climate-neutral transformation of our entire industrial region."
Prof. Christoph Herrmann, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, sees Salzgitter as a lighthouse region for the industrial, sustainable production and use of hydrogen: "As an institute within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, we see ourselves as a trailblazer and driving force for innovative developments. The requirements of the guiding principle of sustainability are an integral part of our research. With our
technologies and expertise in coating and surface technology as well as process and manufacturing technology, we want to help create marketable solutions. In the various projects, we are developing technologies for a hydrogen economy and defossilization of industry. This takes place along the entire value chain - from production to use - taking into account economic and ecological aspects."
The minister was given an insight into the four projects already launched on hydrogen mobility, hydrogen storage in steel tanks, factory transformation to decarbonize the value chain and the conceptual design of a green hydrogen supply for the Salzgitter region.
The prerequisites for using hydrogen in practice include transportation and storage. Hydrogen tanks made of steel are inexpensive to manufacture and can also be recycled; the material costs are comparatively low and the manufacturing processes are very economical. The use of ultra-high-strength steels for type I tanks has so far been limited by hydrogen embrittlement. "Together with the Fraunhofer IST, we want to develop a barrier for the steel surface that prevents hydrogen embrittlement. The project promises great potential for increasing the steel strength used and thus further reducing weight, costs and CO2 emissions," says Dr. Benedikt Ritterbach, Managing Director of Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH.
How can an economically viable supply of green hydrogen become a reality in Salzgitter? The Hydrogen Campus aims to answer this question. A study led by MAN Energy Solutions and Fraunhofer IST has been underway since May 2021. Local production, transportation from coastal regions and the import of hydrogen are being compared technically and economically, and a relevant customer market is being identified and developed, for example in rail transport or steel production. "Salzgitter stands out above all due to its large number of customers for green hydrogen. The high demand and wide range of possible applications are a clear advantage of the location," says Marc Grünewald, Head of Business Development Power and New Energies at MAN Energy Solutions. "However, it is also crucial that these customers are supplied with large quantities of green hydrogen cost-effectively and across the board. Our study will identify these paths and thus lays an important foundation for establishing an efficient supply of green hydrogen in the Salzgitter region."
In the Factory Transformation project, the Fraunhofer IST is working together with Bosch at the Salzgitter plant to create a real hydrogen infrastructure in the form of a pilot factory. The aim of the project is to create a CO2-neutral pilot factory in a real environment. There are also other local projects. In cooperation with the local energy supplier WEVG, the Bosch site will be connected to the district heating network and will thus draw on the waste heat already available from Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH from the fall. This will result in an annual CO2 reduction of more than 95 percent compared to generating heat in-house using natural gas. "We are currently working on several CO2 reduction projects at the same time - the commissioning of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), the connection to the WEVG district heating network and the construction of a photovoltaic system. We are picking up speed," says Michael Gensicke, Managing Director of Robert Bosch Elektronik GmbH.