HHLA wins funding for green hydrogen project

Germany-based port and transport logistics company Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) can now benefit from an additional €2.3 million ($2.7 million) to test new transportation technologies for green hydrogen.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will approve substantial amounts of funding for three key hydrogen projects as part of the implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy.

Their purpose is to facilitate Germany’s transition to a hydrogen economy over a period of four years.

Specifically, the three projects are the serial manufacture of large-scale water electrolysers (H2Giga), the offshore production of hydrogen and secondary products (H2Mare) and technologies for the transportation of hydrogen (TransHyDE).

More than 240 partners from the scientific and industrial sectors are working together on the key hydrogen projects, with HHLA being one of them.

“An important question in the development of hydrogen technology is the widespread availability of this energy source,” Georg Böttner, who is responsible for HHLA’s hydrogen project, explained.

“HHLA, too, is searching for the best answers to this question, which is why we are involved in the key TransHyDE project.”

Hydrogen is rarely used at the same location where it is manufactured. TransHyDE is tackling this problem and wants to develop a holistic approach to the production, transportation and use of hydrogen.

Together with other partners, HHLA is examining the various transport options here and is involved in the TransHyDE projects “Mukran” and “Helgoland” on the islands of Rügen and Heligoland, respectively, where the transportation of hydrogen in high-pressure containers as well as via LOHCs (liquid organic hydrogen carriers) is being tested.

HHLA’s green hydrogen strategy

HHLA intends to become climate-neutral by 2040 as part of its sustainability strategy.

The use of hydrogen as an energy source can make a key contribution to decarbonization of the company. The focus is on implementing fuel cells in handling equipment and heavy-load road vehicles.

The company has set itself the challenge of storing hydrogen and transporting it to the end users in an appropriate form.

With its network of ports and connections that extend into the European hinterland, the port operator believes it can take advantage of the new opportunities in hydrogen import and transportation.