Handtmann plans to advance the eypansion of renewable energy sources and "green" hydrogen produkts

HANDTMANN PLANS TO WORK WITH PARTNERS TO ADVANCE THE EXPANSION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND “GREEN” HYDROGEN PRODUCTION

Parliamentary State Secretary Dr Franziska Brantner emphasises the significance of sustainable energy generation

Representatives of the Handtmann Group of Companies and the Hydrogen Alliance of the Biberach region held a working meeting with Dr Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, on the fringes of the New Year’s reception of the Ulm Chamber of Industry and Commerce in the Biberach community hall. The aim of the meeting was to get support from politicians for advancing the energy transformation in the Biberach region in particular and in Germany as a whole.

“The expansion of renewable energy sources through the development of a green hydrogen sector is essential to ensure grid stability and supply and is a key driver in securing Germany as a sustainable centre for industrial and technological innovation,” explains Markus Ammann, Managing Director of Handtmann e-solutions GmbH & Co. KG. “Local and regional energy projects in particular will also ensure that the transformation of the energy supply is pushed forward quickly and across the board and the market in Germany is thus ramped up. Our modular electrolyser has been specially designed for this purpose and provides prospective customers with an easy entry into this market. The market ramp-up in Germany is so important, because it supports the development of technologies in Germany and hence ensures the export of technology to the world.”

At the working meeting, State Secretary Dr Franziska Brantner was called upon to support the members of the Hydrogen Alliance of the Biberach region in this undertaking and to simplify and speed up approval procedures. “We need to get faster and better at advancing green technologies in Germany, especially renewable energy sources and green hydrogen. To this end, the Federal Government have already initiated numerous acceleration acts and will be also present relevant bills for the hydrogen sector. We need to join forces in order to successfully implement the programme locally,” emphasised the economic policy maker. Also addressed was the need for sustainable funding in the ramp-up phase of the green hydrogen sector, which would guarantee a binding purchase prise for green hydrogen in addition to support for plant investments. “We have a vested interest in ensuring that the supply with green energy in the region and in Germany is secured in the long term by means of sustainable and innovative technology,” comments Markus Ammann. “We believe that we can achieve this goal through decentralised solutions, intelligent sector coupling and local hydrogen projects involving producers and consumers in the alliance.”

Making the most of regional potentials

"The very first bits of information about this project by Handtmann entitled “Hydrogen Alliance Biberach an der Riß” already piqued my interest. I was immediately convinced that the companies based here with their know-how and technology wanted to decentrally produce and use renewable energies in a regional alliance. This would help cut transport routes, reduce their own energy needs, etc., and also contribute to stabilising the grids,” explains Anja Reinalter, member of the Bundestag for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, who arranged the meeting.

Besides Handtmann, the Hydrogen Alliance in the Biberach region presently also includes Kieswerke Dünkel GmbH & Co. KG, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Bioenergie Oberland GmbH (Hochdorf) and the Abwasserzweckverband Riß. They all have developed concrete projects around the topic of regenerative energy sources. Dünkel, for example, plans to install more photovoltaic systems and de-carbonise both the gravel plant and its fleet of around 80 vehicles. The plans include the construction of a filling station to refuel vehicles of all common types of propulsion, such as hydrogen, e-fuels and electricity.

The Abwasserzweckverband Riß intends to increase its energy efficiency by using the pure oxygen obtained during hydrogen production and will become a producer of green energy and hydrogen through the combined heat and power unit powered by sewage gas and photovoltaic systems. Boehringer Ingelheim plans to run its plants entirely on renewable energy from wind and sun and also sees a need for green hydrogen and oxygen. Bioenergie Oberland GmbH, as a producer of biogas and local heating energy, wants to invest in more photovoltaic systems and make this energy available. “Each alliance partner thus has different needs and surplus resources of green electricity, hydrogen, oxygen and heat, which add up very well,” says Markus Ammann. “The close proximity of the partners makes is absolutely sensible to have a local integrated energy network and the Handtmann electrolyser is an ideal solution for the decentralised production of green hydrogen.”

“These are all ambitious stand-alone initiatives, which in alliance make a great contribution to protecting the climate,” explains Dr Franziska Brantner. “We strive to give you the best framework conditions for this endeavour, to speed up the expansion of the power grids and to boost simple, targeted funding options.”