Hydrogen:
Resource of the Future

To seize the opportunities in the field of industrial decarbonization, the WAVE-H2 project aims to establish a versatile, energy-flexible, and interconnected H2 industrial research platform.

WAVE-H2 focuses on the technological development of individual system components and their integration into an industrial production system. Disruptive innovations are implemented in innovation modules and gradually applied to the overall energy system example of the H2 industrial research platform. Here, the impacts of dynamic energy generation, storage, and utilization on the overall system and at the level of individual technical components are examined and optimized.

Through optimization, improvements are achieved in the part-load performance of the technologies. Waste heat utilization is more efficiently coordinated, and bivalent production plants exhibit a more dynamic and robust operational behavior. Additionally, grid-supportive behaviors contribute to the economic stabilization of the power grid. The insights gained are fed back into the innovation modules and form the basis for further innovations. Thus, an H2 industrial research platform with ultra-short development cycles is created, meeting the demand of Research Minister Anja Karliczek to swiftly deliver comprehensive sustainable solutions to industry.

The planned H2 industrial research platform integrates various industrial consumers to utilize and flexibilize the hydrogen energy carrier in the production process. The focus is directed towards bivalent systems, which can be operated alternatively with renewably generated electricity at favorable electricity prices or with hydrogen in case of electricity scarcity, instead of conventionally using natural gas. Moreover, from a broader perspective, coupling with sectors such as transportation and heating, through connections to a district heating network, the gas network, and the planned H2 research refueling station of ARENA 2036 and the University of Stuttgart, can also be considered.