Under the leadership of HY.City.Bremerhaven GmbH & Co. KG, we are building a regional green hydrogen ecosystem in Bremerhaven together with other partners.
The symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on 20 April marked the start of construction for the climate city's flagship project. In addition to the shareholders of HY.City.Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven's Lord Mayor Melf Grantz and other political and municipal representatives also took part in the ceremony. Completion of the two project sites is planned for next summer.
The construction of the 2-megawatt hydrogen production plant on Grauwallring and the construction of the public filling station at the "Zur Hexenbrücke" site are important milestones in the realisation of the regional green hydrogen project in Bremerhaven, for the implementation of which HY.City.Bremerhaven GmbH & Co. KG was founded specifically for its realisation. This pioneering work will create a local hydrogen ecosystem in Bremerhaven and supply climate-neutral fuel for the transport sector.
Ceremonial start of construction of the hydrogen refuelling station in Bremerhaven with the shareholders and political and municipal representatives
Bremerhaven's Lord Mayor Melf Granz in front of the BremerhavenBus hydrogen buses as the perfect backdrop for the speech at the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony
Andreas Wellbrock, Managing Director of HY.City.Bremerhaven and member of the DS TaskForceFuture, is delighted about the jointly achieved milestone
"The ground-breaking ceremony for the planned hydrogen refuelling station in Bremerhaven is not just a symbolic act, but also an important step on the road to emission-free mobility and a sustainable future. Together with regional partners, we are building a green hydrogen infrastructure and creating the conditions for refuelling with 100% green and regionally produced hydrogen - for a future worth living and a healthy environment."
André Steinau, Managing Director at GP JOULE HYDROGEN GmbH and HY.City.Bremerhaven
The public hydrogen refuelling station next to the BremerhavenBus premises will be supplied directly with sufficient green hydrogen from the production facility on Grauwallring using mobile storage units. In future, cars, lorries and buses will be able to fill up with regional hydrogen at the 350 bar and 700 bar pumps. "The refuelling station offers our city and the surrounding area a very good opportunity to facilitate the switch to hydrogen for private and commercial use. This attractive offer expands Bremerhaven's climate-friendly strategy and shows that green hydrogen will soon be produced locally by wind turbines," said Sönke Allers, SPD parliamentary group leader in Bremerhaven's city council, expressing his delight at the start of construction.
Initially, seven hydrogen buses are planned as permanent consumers of the regionally produced hydrogen in Bremerhaven's local transport network. Three of these have already been operated by BremerhavenBus since the end of 2022. The next step is to increase the number of buses to at least ten. The capacity of the planned electrolysis plant is sufficient for refuelling up to 34 buses per day.
"Following the launch of hydrogen buses at BremerhavenBus in December 2022, another important milestone will be reached in Bremerhaven with the use of hydrogen. The new hydrogen refuelling station will open up a large market for mobility for private and commercial users of hydrogen vehicles," commented Thorsten Raschen, Chairman of the Bremerhaven City Council. And Prof. Dr Hauke Hilz, Deputy Chairman of the Bremen Parliamentary Group, agreed: "I am very pleased that we are making an offer to the people of Bremerhaven with the hydrogen filling station and at the same time ensuring the supply of hydrogen buses. Hydrogen mobility is now possible for everyone."
The electricity needed to produce the hydrogen is generated by wind turbines in the Speckenbüttel industrial estate. The hydrogen buses that will be used by BremerhavenBus on scheduled services in future will therefore be CO2-neutral. They are also significantly quieter than vehicles with combustion engines, with the same range and a similarly short refuelling time. Their use therefore not only improves the carbon footprint of local public transport in Bremerhaven, but also ensures better air quality and less traffic noise in the city overall.
"With our partners and the support of politicians and the administration, we are now moving on to the implementation phase," said Andreas Wellbrock, Managing Director of Hy.City.Bremerhaven and Green Fuels GmbH, "We are thus realising the establishment of the hydrogen ecosystem in Bremerhaven as an important milestone for a climate-neutral transport sector. This project will be followed by others, some of which we are already working on, and Bremerhaven will gain in importance throughout Germany as a beacon of the hydrogen economy."
