The production of hydrogen by the green energy and telecommunications service provider ENTEGA on the site of the Darmstadt waste-to-energy plant (MHKW) is now also supported by a funding decision from the state of Hesse.

The state is supporting the project with around 1.65 million euros on the basis of the guideline of the state of Hesse for the promotion of innovative, intelligent and green economic change in Hesse from funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF funding guideline 21+). The funding is provided by the Wirtschafts- und Infrastrukturbank Hessen (WI-Bank).

According to the company, the funding decision is an important signal from the state of Hesse and underlines that ENTEGA is an active pioneer of the energy transition. However, the overarching framework conditions for the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy are still characterized by uncertainties. Although the German government has agreed to set up a nationwide hydrogen core network, it is not yet clear to potential customers when they could be connected to a hydrogen network, at what price and in what quantity hydrogen will be available.

The production plant is scheduled to go into regular operation in the first quarter of 2027. The project is also funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) as part of the DELTA real-world laboratory project.

In the electrolyser, water is broken down into its components hydrogen and oxygen with the help of green electricity. The plant is expected to produce around 310 tonnes of green hydrogen per year, which will be used primarily for hydrogen-powered buses. The amount is enough to operate about 40 buses. Compared to diesel, 4,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. It is planned that the hydrogen will usually be picked up with trailers in order to refuel the buses at the local transport companies.

ENTEGA awarded the contract for the technical components of the plant last year following an EU-wide tender. The contract has been awarded to the hydrogen plant construction specialist FEST GmbH from Goslar, which will install the electrolyser, the compressor and the hydrogen trailer filling station, among other things.