Innovation & Technology Centre for hydrogen

In June 2021, Prognos was commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) to investigate the feasibility of an innovation and technology centre for hydrogen (ITZ). An innovation centre of this nature and the corresponding technology should provide a development, certification, and standardisation body that due to the early market phase and the high costs involved, cannot be implemented without public sector financial support.

Set technical & economic standards for new hydrogen technologies

The ITZ focuses on strengthening the competitiveness of start-ups, founders, and small and medium-sized enterprises. This is intended to close the gap with comparable innovation institutions in Asia (including China and Japan) and North America.  A centre such as this is addressed in measure 10 of the National Hydrogen Strategy and will be put into practice accordingly.

Location selection for the Technology and Innovation Centre: Our tasks

In order to promote the use of hydrogen for mobility and transport, the BMDV wants to promote technology like this and innovation centres for hydrogen technologies and thus launched a competition procedure for suitable locations in November 2020. Application concepts from various German regions were submitted in an open and transparent competition. The results of this process were the locations of Chemnitz, Duisburg, Pfeffenhausen, and a cluster in Northern Germany consisting of several locations (Bremen/Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Stade). These locations were tested, evaluated, and developed with regard to their feasibility, implementability, and added value. In the second phase, a feasibility concept for the ITZ is to be presented in more detail by Prognos, on the basis of which the implementation will be decided.

The project runs until March 2022.

More about our work on hydrogen (in German)

Authors

Jens Hobohm, Marion Neumann, Marcel Hölterhoff, Jutta Struwe