On July 4, the kick-off for the project "Hy-FIVE - Model Region Green Hydrogen Baden-Württemberg" took place in Schwäbisch-Gmünd. State Secretary Andre Baumann from the Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Management presented the project consortium with the funding notification for around 32 million euros. The funding is provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the state of Baden-Württemberg.
In addition to the districts of Reutlingen, Heidenheim and Tübingen, the model region includes the Alb-Donau district, the Ostalb district and the cities of Schwäbisch Gmünd and Ulm. The aim of Hy-FIVE is to test a hydrogen economy in both rural and urban areas. Hy-FIVE is divided into four lighthouse projects that cover the entire value chain from generation to use in industry, transportation and neighborhood solutions. Cities, municipalities, project partners from industry and science implement the specific model projects. These include the construction of electrolysers for hydrogen production, filling station infrastructure and distribution systems. The Hy-FIVE project will be funded from 2022 to 2027.
With Hy-FIVE, a water electrolysis plant is to be built and operated by Stadtwerke Ulm at the ZSW site in Lise-Meitner-Strasse in Ulm. The green electricity for the electrolysis is supplied by the Böfinger Halde Danube power plant. The ZSW with its hydrogen quality laboratory HyLaB - one of only three independent laboratories worldwide that can detect impurities in hydrogen in ppb-range - has been commissioned to monitor the quality of the hydrogen produced and will receive 400,000 euros in funding. The fuel cell test field of the ZSW will be one of the main consumers of the hydrogen and will thus test high-performance fuel cells for industry in a climate-neutral manner in the future. The ZSW played a leading role in the application process. Prof. Dr. Markus Hölzle, ZSW board member and head of the ZSW in Ulm, is a member of the Hy-FIVE association's board of directors.