EU sustainable heat project to launch in Hamburg

31 July 2020

HAW Hamburg natural gas mixed with hydrogen to ensure lower emissions

The Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) and the Competence Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CC4E) are taking part in the EU-funded project mySMARTLife to research energy and resource-efficient solutions for the energy, transport, infrastructure and communication sectors, a press release said Thursday (July 23, 2020). Research is to get underway in Nantes, France, the Finnish capital of Helsinki and Hamburg. Bergedorf in east Hamburg has been selected for tests of a sustainable heat supply in the new Schilfpark district from September 2020. Hydrogen will be fed into the local natural gas network to reduce CO2 emissions.

Lowering emissions with hydrogen

Bergedorf's local heating network supplies a total of 273 apartments with heating energy and hot water. Thanks to two combined heat and power (CHP) units and two peak load boilers, CO2 emissions are already lower. Hopes are now high that blending natural gas with up to 30 per cent hydrogen will lower emissions even further. Surplus electricity from renewable energies can be stored temporarily as hydrogen, which can then be converted back into electricity in the block-type thermal power stations. Tests of such conversions will also be done.

Boosting integration of heat, transport and industry

CC4E is conducing the project with Gasnetz Hamburg, Enercity Contracting Nord GmbH and the district of Bergedorf and is promoting the sector coupling needed for the energy transition there. To this end, CC4E is undertaking several projects focusing on the use of renewable energy in the heating, transport and industrial sectors.

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Sources and further information

www.haw-hamburg.de

Competence Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency

CC4E is a cross-faculty scientific institution at HAW Hamburg, which takes an interdisciplinary approach to the challenges of the energy transition now and in future. This includes, among others, talks with the public about upcoming changes in the future energy supply. CC4E's core competencies lie in wind energy, storage, system integration and sector coupling.