Let's get Hydrogen ready

Welcome to our GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION podcast

Messe Berlin GmbH, Jasmin Bumanowski, Director GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION

1. Who are you?

I am Jasmin Bumanowski, Senior Consultant to the CEO and Director of GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION. Together with my colleague Daniel Barkowski, also Project Lead at Messe Berlin, I launched the GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION project.

At Messe Berlin we see trade fairs as a place for exchange, for talking about technology, about innovation. Trade fairs are a place where people meet, a kind of marketplace to present themselves and their offer and also to talk about the development of these products. Handshake, face-to-face, is very important. That's what we do and that's what Messe Berlin stands for. So, we offer a platform for innovation, products and ideas.

2. And how are you about to save the world?

With many forward-looking projects and trade fairs, of course - but especially with our new project GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION now!

We are convinced that we need a change in the economy, in society, to a CO2-neutral economy, and we need it fast. The name of the project is no coincidence here. We are concerned with the next generation and that globally, with more social justice, worldwide.

It is still the case that the large industrialized nations such as Germany, but also other European countries, have a very high energy demand and less industrialized nations, poorer countries, have to meet this energy demand as well. We need fair, good solutions for today and tomorrow. And that's what we want to promote and support with GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION, hybrid at trade fairs and online.

Our vision is to build a community on the topic of CO2-neutral economy with a focus on hydrogen. Our USP with GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION, i.e. our special contribution, will be access to policy makers. This lends itself to our location in the capital. We want to promote an exchange between decision-makers and doers - politics and business. The starting point now is our sustainable stand at the ILA, from 22 to 24 June 2022.

3. What are you looking forward to at ILA, at the GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION booth?

I am particularly looking forward to our great exhibitors at our GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION stand: APUS GROUP, the Fraunhofer society, H2 Berlin and ZAL TechCenter, to the great exchange and that we will have good discussions here, with the guests of the ILA and political decision makers, in order to be able to discuss the central questions about hydrogen.

A real highlight will be Wednesday evening, 22 June. We will be holding a reception there and have Stefan Gelbhaar as a "special guest" with a panel discussion at 7 p.m. at our GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION booth.

Stefan Gelbhaar is not only a member of the Bundestag and transport policy spokesman for the Green Party, so he is one of the most important contacts on the subject of mobility and the energy transition in Germany. He will also be a member of the Supervisory Board of DB Holding. I am very curious to hear what he has to say about the challenges and opportunities of hydrogen, how he sees the role of politics, but also that of business. And on top of that, there will be Green Whiskey from Scotland and Stuttgart Maultaschen from a sustainable manufactory at the reception. It's going to be awesome!

H2Berlin, Jörg Buisset, Vorstandvorsitzender

1. Who are you?

H2Berlin is an organization that has set itself the goal of ramping up a sustainable hydrogen economy in Berlin in the short term.

We are an association of the capital's major utilities and waste management companies and other business houses including start-ups such as Vattenfall, Siemens Energy, Gasag, Berliner Stadtwerke, Berliner Wasserwerke, Berliner Stadtreinigung, Storengy, Enertrag, MAN, Deuttz AG, Sustainable Hydrogen GmbH, among others, see our website H2Berlin.org.

I am the chairman of the board of this organisation, Jörg Buisset. My company, s-H2 - Sustainable Hydrogen GmbH, is the initiator of H2Berlin. sH2 is an operating company for sustainable hydrogen lighthouse projects along the entire value chain.

In this context, sH2 operates the production facilities for sustainable hydrogen, provides the necessary infrastructure and runs the business applications in all sectors: buildings, transport, and industry. In this way, sH2 ensures that what is produced is also consumed.

2. And how are you about to save the world?

Indeed, when I founded H2Berlin and s-H2 - Sustainable Hydrogen, I was driven by the desire to make the world a better place.

In addition, I am concerned about Europe. The European Union with its values has given us over 70 years of peace, freedom, prosperity, and security. Increasingly rampant nationalisms threaten what the grandparents of my generation helped to build. I oppose this with all my strength by supporting the realization of the "Green Deal". This is the largest European project ever initiated, which, like the Coal and Steel Union, will bring all members of the European Union a sustainable perspective for the future. The core of the "Green Deal" is the energy transition and as already explained: no economically and socially compatible energy transition without sustainable hydrogen.

H2Berlin will introduce 9000t of hydrogen as a sustainable energy carrier into the Berlin system by 2025 with two lighthouse projects in the transport and building supply sectors. In this way, we will make a significant contribution to achieving the "NetZero goal" of Germany's largest metropolis.

The energy transition will not succeed without the introduction of a sustainable hydrogen economy. This is especially true for Berlin. Here, over 70 TWh of energy must be imported, about 95 percent. This will hardly change in the future either. The Solar City project will be able to cover 0.05 per cent of that.

That means we will have to import renewable energy. This will mainly be done via gas pipelines, as existing infrastructures can be used here. Gas pipelines can transport up to 10 times more energy than electricity lines. In addition, gas pipelines can store energy, unlike electricity lines. This is necessary, especially in Berlin, because about half of the city's energy is consumed in two to three winter months, when the city has hardly any renewable energy of its own - unless it is stored in the form of hydrogen.

3. What are you looking forward to at the ILA, at the GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION booth?

In the design of our H2 lighthouse in the transport sector for Berlin, BER Airport plays a central role. Synthetic paraffin is produced based on sustainable H2. The large new aircraft will be fueled with H2 in the foreseeable future, the building supply system at BER will rely on H2 as an energy source, and some ground logistics vehicles - buses, for example - will be converted to H2 drives if necessary. Roissy-Charles de Gaulle, the airport in Paris, wants to become the H2 hub in France. We are looking for a partnership here in Berlin.

ZAL TechCenter

1. Who are you?

The ZAL TechCenter is one of the most modern research centers for civil aviation worldwide. Around 600 employees from over thirty companies and startups from industry and science are shaping the future of aviation here. The ZAL GmbH, with our 60-strong team, is the heart of the ZAL TechCenter. We conduct research on topics such as: Robotics, AI, 3D Printing, Acoustics, Laser Shock Peening or Hydrogen. We coordinate the operation of halls, laboratories and research facilities. We network aviation players at our local and international events.

2. How are you about to save the world?

Hydrogen is an essential building block for the success of emission-free mobility. This also applies to aviation: converted into electricity for electric motors or as synthetic fuel, the use of hydrogen reduces harmful CO2 emissions to a minimum – in best case to zero. At ZAL we do research on the application and integration of such new systems into the aircraft – fuel cell systems being one of them. But also other aeronautical application like unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are within our focus.

Our ILA demonstrators:

The first demonstrator showcases an UAS designed and built by our team using fuel cells and compressed hydrogen. It’s an hexacopter with about 17 kg of MTOW (maximum take-off weight) including 5 kg of payload and a tested flight duration of 2 hours. Compared to a battery electric driven UAS the flight time is about 4 times higher and refueling takes only a couple of minutes. As a next step, we will use liquid hydrogen, expecting an 18 times longer flight duration than with batteries.

We will also present the project at the ILA on Wednesday, 22 June, around 3 p.m., on the ISC stage: "H2 Drone - How to fly 18 times longer".

The second demonstrator is a lightweight fuel cell stack. It is designed to address the relevance of weight in aviation. The lightweight fuel cell stack consists of the usual components which are held together by two additively manufactured endplates. This allows a new design, new materials and a new process route saving up to 50% of the end plate weight at constant performance level. Furthermore, the hybrid design enables to functionally integrate various important properties such as mechanical stability, gas tightness, insulating properties as well as electrical connection. In total it allows maximum weight savings and optimal functionality at the same time.

We will also be presenting this project at the ILA on the ISC stage: On Friday, 24 June, approx. 11:45 a.m.: "Fuel Cell Stack with 3D Printing - How to save weight (50% reduction of end plate weight)".

To reduce the ecological footprint of aviation, however, one needs to focus on other technologies, as well. In order to improve production and maintenance processes, for example, ZAL is researching laser treatment to extend the service life of components or introducing new automation processes.

3. What are you looking for at ILA, the GLOBAL HYDROGENERATION booth?

We look for partners who want to shape the future of aviation – no matter how mature their product is.

We invite partners to join us at ZAL: to unfold the potential of their product with our AI or Hydrogen experts, to develop their idea in aerospace-specific labs and test beds, and to discuss their milestones with partners and customers from startups to OEMs.

If you believe in Hydrogen, as we do, we can offer you fully equipped hydrogen labs including all technical and safety relevant parts to start directly with our tests. Our experts can help you to discover the opportunities of hydrogen and support your staff to understand and work with hydrogen. Last but not least, we can use together the infrastructure of the TechCenter to rapid prototyping your ideas. Also, we are part of the very interesting Hamburg Hydrogen Network with lots of other interested players not only from aviation.

Herone

1. Who are you?

We founded herone in 2018 as a team of aerospace and lightweight engineers, passionate about questioning the status quo and making superior thermoplastic composite profiles available. Thereto, we use the thermoplastic advantage, tailor the product performance and bring additional functionality directly into the composite part.

The technological core is our herone technology. It combines automated preforming with efficient press forming to scale production and provide cost-effective solutions to our customers.

By using recyclable thermoplastic material, we explore new ways to close the material cycle for high performance products.

2. And how are you about to save the world?

Our Vision is to innovate composites for sustainable living, as we enable to go beyond limits towards a cleaner future and a better life. Thereby we are strongly focusing on emission free aviation, e.g. with ultra-lightweight hydrogen piping.

3. What are you looking for at ILA, the Global Hydrogeneration booth?

We want to connect with other hydrogen focused companies to join forces and together provide supply chain comprehensive solutions.

Apus Group

1. Who are you?

Founded in 2014, APUS specializes in aircraft construction engineering services for airframer. The engineering offices and the production facilities are located at Strausberg airfield, just outside Berlin. With its 35 employees, the company, which is approved by EASA as a Design Organization and in the near future as an EASA - Production Organization, is active both in its own i-2 and i-5 projects and as an engineering service provider for well known companies in the aviation industry.

APUS aims to continue to be a clean aviation engineering service provider. Beyond the development, production and sale of the hydrogen-powered APUS i-series, APUS is positioning itself to become a leading clean-aviation powertrain provider.

2. How are you about to safe the world?

APUS i-2 is the first zero-emission aircraft for everyday use. It is a four-seat Normal Category (CS-23) aircraft with 2,200 kg MTOM (Maximum Take-Off Mass), a range of 500 NM (nautical miles) and a maximum cruise speed of 160 KTAS (knots true airspeed) - competitive performance figures to modern four-seat aircraft.

By using hydrogen as the primary energy source, the APUS i-2 is 100% emission-free. This is achieved through APUS' patented, structurally integrated hydrogen storage system. It enables up to 25% higher specific energy density compared to standard hydrogen tanks and 10 times higher energy density than battery-electric aircraft - all with a reduced use of rare minerals used in batteries.

3. What are you looking for at ILA, the Global Hydrogeneration booth?

To deliver its Clean Aviation plans, APUS is open to consider new strategical partners/ investors and is looking forward to meeting them at ILA.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Prof. Christopher Hebling, Director Business Division Hydrogen Technologies, Co-Director Division Energy Technologies and Systems

1. Who are you?

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, based in Germany, is one of the world’s leading organizations for applied research. Through excellent research results, successful projects with industry partners, spin-off companies and global collaborations, Fraunhofer transforms original ideas into innovations that benefit society and strengthen both the German and European economies. This technological and system-oriented approach supports the partners in industry with their successful market entry.The scientific work ranges from materials research to system integration.

In the Fraunhofer Hydrogen Network, thirty-six institutes join forces to pave the road for sustainable hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives. Hundreds of scientists and engineers cover all necessary research fields to improve all technologies in the value chain and to quantify the respective costs of hydrogen production and transport.

2. How are you about to save the world?

As a worldwide leader in applied research, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft contributes to maintaining our society’s future viability by means of sustainable solutions in numerous fields. Hydrogen technologies play a central role in industry’s transition toward sustainable value creation. They form a key part of strategic plans to safeguard a sustainable future for Germany as an industrial hub. Fraunhofer’s expertise includes materials, systems and their production and use in industry, mobility and the energy sector. It also covers interdisciplinary topics such as security and service life as well as standardization and regulatory boundary conditions.

There is an evident need for hydrogen technology. In the power sector, for example, we require flexible ways of storing surplus electricity so that this can be fed back into the grid at times when solar or wind energy are unavailable. If climate targets are to be met, we must continue to expand the renewable generation of electricity.

Yet this expansion only makes sense in conjunction with the global development and market introduction of hydrogen-based technologies. Ten-megawatt electrolyzers can rapidly correct an imbalance between supply and demand in the grid when they are integrated in the grid-nods. In the future, they will perform an important function in ensuring grid stability.

However, a shift to renewable energy alone will not be enough to achieve the net-zero targets that are ratified or under discussion in more than 100 nations. In addition, industrial processes will have to be defossilized, combined with a shift towards renewable resources in the raw-materials base. For this reason, hydrogen solutions will rapidly become the sensible option both ecologically and economically in other areas as well. Starting a few years from now, it will be possible to produce steel on a CO2-neutral basis.

Moreover, if CO2 is removed from highly concentrated waste gases and converted into basic chemicals such as methanol by means of hydrogen, it will not only improve the climate impact of industrial processes but also mark the beginning of a new form of production that is no longer dependent on fossil-based resources.

Fraunhofer provides expert support here, both to industry and government, for example, in the flagship projects of the German government: H2GIGA, H2MARE and TRANSHYDE. We not only develop the technology required to meet such challenges but also produce studies on market development and on sustainability, like life cycle analyses. With numerous countries now poised to ramp up the hydrogen economy, it is time for Germany to start bringing this technology to market.

3. What are you looking for at ILA, the Global Hydrogeneration booth?

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go in company." To integrate hydrogen and other technologies into a successful energy transition, the perspective and experience of all players along the value chain is needed. At the booth, we want to exchange ideas with the movers and shakers from politics, business, and science in order to develop the best solutions for our common challenges.