Hydrogen economy
The Berlin-Brandenburg region is driving technology development and application forward. Here you will find the right partners for your hydrogen project.
The energy transition is gaining momentum. The state of Berlin has set itself the goal of reducing CO₂ emissions by 95 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2045. Hydrogen and its derivatives can bridge the gap between fluctuating electricity generation from renewable energies and energy demand in various sectors (e.g., industry, mobility, heating) due to their diverse storage and transport capabilities. Hydrogen technologies are therefore highly relevant for the energy systems of the future.
Brandenburg is one of Germany's leaders in renewable energy production. If you want to produce or use green hydrogen, you've come to the right place. The state has developed a comprehensive strategy based on the "Roadmap for establishing a hydrogen economy in Brandenburg and the capital region." The capital region offers ideal conditions for networking all players along the value chain – from research and development to production and application.
Broad research
The region is considered a research and development hotspot in Europe with the following institutes and facilities:
- Technische Universität Berlin: Electrochemical Catalysis, Energy and Materials Sciences Group
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB): Solar fuels with the research platform CatLab for the development of novel catalyst materials in cooperation with the Fritz Haber Institute (FHI) and the MPI for Chemical Energy Conversion
- BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg: Research profile energy transition and decarbonization
- Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing): Competence center H2Safety@BAM
- Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes
- Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP: New catalysts and membranes for fuel cells
- Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems IEG: Competence Center for Natural Gas, Hydrogen & Material Infrastructures
- Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ): Geothermal energy and underground storage of hydrogen
- Reiner Lemoine Institut (RLI)
Cooperation and funding opportunities
The capital region offers excellent opportunities for R&D cooperation as well as various support offers for business and science:
- The Nationale Organisation Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie (National Organization for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology) NOW, based in Berlin, is the point of contact for funding and the regulatory framework at federal level.
- The Berlin funding program BENE 2 (funding priority 3: intelligent energy systems, grids and storage systems) supports, among other things, innovative sector coupling projects and demonstration projects.
- The Brandenburg Hydrogen Storage Program (2024) promotes the production, use and distribution of renewable hydrogen as well as the storage of renewable electricity in chemical, mechanical or thermal energy.
Innovative companies and projects
ENERTRAG, Graforce, H2Mobility, MAN Energy Solutions, and Siemens Energy are just a few of the hydrogen technology companies implementing innovative products and projects in the Berlin-Brandenburg region.
- Siemens Energy and Air Liquide are jointly producing electrolysis modules at their multi-gigawatt factory in Berlin-Moabit. H2-ready gas turbines are also developed and manufactured at the site.
- Infrastructure companies, including Berlin Energie und Wärme (BEW), GASAG, Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB), and Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR), are driving forward the development of a city-wide hydrogen infrastructure with several hydrogen hubs as part of the initiative H2Berlin initiative.
- In Brandenburg, the Lausitz reference power plant (RefLau) is being built at the Schwarze Pumpe industrial site by 2026. In the future, it will enable energy to be supplied from renewable energy sources and hydrogen, including the storage and reconversion of hydrogen into electricity.
- As part of the H2BAR project, Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn (NEB) has converted the Heidekrautbahn (RB27) to hydrogen-powered fuel cell multiple units. Bus and waste collection vehicles in Barnim are gradually being converted to hydrogen power, including their own refueling infrastructure. The hydrogen required comes from regional renewable energy sources.
- Other important players in the region include the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (DWV), the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM), the joint project HyStarter Lusatia, the regional hydrogen network Prignitz-Ostprignitz-Ruppin-Oberhavel (PROOH2V), and the Lausitz hydrogen network DurcH2atmen.
