(Wiesbaden, 1 October 2024) ABO Energy has received permission in accordance with the German Federal Immission Control Act for the company’s first hydrogen project. This pilot project consists of a wind turbine, green hydrogen production and a hydrogen refuelling station with a trailer filling station. It is currently under construction in Hesse, Germany, near the city of Fulda. On 30 September 2024, the responsible District President was on site and handed over the permit to ABO Energy. The permit for the wind turbine was already granted in the middle of last year.
Thanks to an approval to start building earlier, the construction work on the project site has been underway since May 2024. Work began with earthworks and civil engineering. Currently, pipelines, foundations, walls, and the roof of the refuelling station are under construction. The construction and assembly work as well as the commissioning are planned to be completed in the first quarter of 2025. The opening of the plant is scheduled for April 2025.
“The electricity for generating the green hydrogen is produced by a wind turbine two kilometres away, which is connected to the electrolyser via a direct line,” says Dr Jochen Ahn, one of the founders and Managing Directors of ABO Energy, describing the special feature of the project. “This is the ideal way to produce green hydrogen locally,” he says. However, as one wind turbine does not produce enough electricity to utilise the electrolyser, ABO Energy is planning to install an additional ten megawatts of photovoltaic power nearby. Green electricity will also be drawn from the grid.
It is also a special project for the responsible regional council, as it is the first electrolyser to be approved by the authority. District President Mark Weinmeister says: “Due to its central location, the North-East Hesse region plays a key role in the German energy transition as well as the transport transition. ABO Energy’s project links these sectors in an innovative way and thus opens the door to a more sustainable future. Many thanks to the employees of the regional council, who carried out the approval procedure competently and swiftly.”
The close and successful cooperation with the town of Hünfeld (where the project is located) is also crucial to the success of the project. Mayor Benjamin Tschesnok was also present at the handover of the approval notice: “We have supported this innovative concept from the very beginning,” he says, “because it is important to develop solutions beyond pure electromobility, to protect the climate and create mobility for the future.”
The project is being funded as part of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology with a total of twelve million euros by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs. Funding for this measure is also being provided as part of the German Recovery and Resilience Plan via the European Recovery and Resilience Facilities (ARF) in the NextGenerationEU programme. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (PtJ).
