Sector coupling with wind-hydrogen
DLR’s Lampoldshausen site, which lies 50 kilometres north of Stuttgart, is currently creating another element of the energy future. The Institute of Space Propulsion in Lampoldshausen is one of Europe’s largest consumers of hydrogen and is situated next to what is currently the biggest wind park in Baden-Württemberg. Taking this infrastructure as their starting point, the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion and ZEAG Energie AG are currently working together to create a hydrogen-based, networked energy system. This will see the energy, transport and space industries coupled on a megawatt scale.
The plant concept of the H2ORIZON project consists of two main components. One is renewable hydrogen production based on wind energy. The polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis (PEM electrolysis for short) system has a power input of around one megawatt and is directly connected to the Harthäuser Wald wind farm. Hydrogen is processed, compressed and pumped directly into special transport vehicles, known as tube trailers, for distribution. H2ORIZON will also be used to construct a new plant to supply the DLR site with heat and electricity. The two gas-engine cogeneration units with a total output of 1.6 MW (thermal) and 1.4 MW (electric) will also be directly connected to the hydrogen production plant, as well as the conventional natural gas supply.
The DLR Institute of Space Propulsion is bringing its knowledge as Europe’s largest consumer of hydrogen to bear on the H2ORIZON project and is drawing upon the highly developed expertise of the whole of DLR, where the study of hydrogen links the felds of aerospace, aeronautics, energy, transport and security. ZEAG Energie AG is the world’s longest-established three-phase supplier. As such, it knows the energy sector and is familiar with the challenges of operating renewable energy plants and power grids, as well as the conditions for successful participation in the energy market.
The infrastructure and expertise of the two project participants will be made available to potential industrial partners – especially small and medium-sized enterprises – and scientifc institutions from January 2019, and will be known as the ‘H2ORIZON Test Field’. In creating the H2ORIZON Test Field, DLR and ZEAG are aiming to enable new hydrogen-related technological and conceptual solutions to be researched, developed, demonstrated and validated at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen.
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Thorben Andersen · E-Mail: thorben.andersen@dlr.de · DLR.de/en