For the first time, ABO Wind will combine a wind farm with the production and use of green H₂. The German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport is funding the Hünfeld-Michelsrombach project with around €12 MM as part of the National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Innovation Program. The funding directive is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich.

"We have been working intensively on the topic of hydrogen for around ten years and are pleased to implement a project for the first time," said ABO Wind board member Dr. Jochen Ahn. In the industrial park Hessisches Kegelspiel in Hünfeld, ABO Wind is planning the construction and operation of a wind turbine and an electrolyzer with a H₂ refueling station for lorries and buses. The approval application for the wind turbine with an installed capacity of 4.8 megawatts has already been submitted. The electrolyzer will initially be designed for an output of 5 megawatts. After five years, an expansion to 7.5 megawatts is planned to meet the expected increase in demand for H₂.

The green H₂ is to be produced by means of water electrolysis in the industrial park and mainly supplied to lorries at the public refueling filling station that is also to be built. Later use for other H₂ vehicles such as cars would also be possible. Around 50 lorries can be refueled per day at the filling station. The plant is designed in such a way that part of the H₂ can also be transported to distant customers by lorry via mobile storage units, so-called trailers. In this way—as a H₂ hub in the region—the project will not only contribute to the traffic turnaround, but also offer industrial and commercial customers the opportunity to gradually make their processes climate-friendly.

"The direct connection line between the wind turbine and the electrolyzer is extremely innovative. It makes it possible to adjust the hydrogen production according to the wind supply," said Dr. Jochen Ahn. Such storage systems are essential for a sustainable energy system. If there is no wind, the electrolyzer can draw electricity from the grid. According to initial calculations, the project will avoid the emission of 115,000 tpy of CO₂, and of nitrogen oxides. This effect is to be increased even further: The adjacent laundry could reduce its gas consumption by using the waste heat from the electrolyzer. In addition, the oxygen produced by the electrolyzer can be ideally used for bleaching and disinfecting.

The H₂ project emerged from the HyExpert project HyWheels, which was launched in 2019 and aims to turn East Hesse into a pioneer region for a carbon-neutral logistics economy. At the beginning of 2023, another project was launched as part of the H₂ Cluster: The HyWheels Hessen fleet. The goal is to build one of the largest fleets of fuel cell vehicles in Germany. Through its role as a pilot project, all relevant data will be recorded to create the best possible network of filling stations and implement a service concept for the users.