Dear Simone, you work in the Specialization Field Mobility at Bayern Innovativ and are primarily responsible for projects in the field of electromobility , such as. For example, the touring exhibition Electromobility Bavaria . For some time now, you have also dedicated yourself to the topic of "hydrogen" and its corresponding development perspectives and are coordinating the new funding program "Hydrogen Filling Stations Bavaria" .
How can the current hype around the topic of hydrogen be explained?
Simone Lang: I think it is not just a temporary hype. Rather, I see it as a new social awareness of environmental issues. Hydrogen already had a "heyday" about 20 years ago, with the same arguments as today and for the same stationary and mobile applications as today. It's just that people's perceptions had a different focus back then. Today, I think more people are aware of how important an energy and mobility transition is - and that the two can only go together. And here hydrogen as an energy storage is of course a very decisive factor.
Therefore I welcome this "hype" to also anchor hydrogen as a sustainable drive alternative in the perception of our society. After all, we simply have to reduce emissions in all areas and expand renewable energies so that we can even begin to counter climate change. In the mobility sector in particular, we still have to do much better.
Since October 2020, there has been the funding program "Hydrogen refueling stations in Bavaria" - can you briefly introduce the program?
Simone Lang: In the Bavarian funding program, a focus is placed on the refueling stations for trucks, buses, commercial vehicles and special vehicles in logistics, because a high potential is seen here. In addition, we can thus act in a complementary manner to the federal program, which also focuses on passenger cars, for example. Since there are hardly any filling stations for heavy transport in Bavaria today, an area-wide infrastructure is to be established.
Another focus is also on infrastructure in order to solve the so-called "chicken-and-egg" problem. Once there is infrastructure, the vehicles will come - that is the goal. The next important point, and for me the most important, is also green hydrogen, which is the focus of the funding program. Because only hydrogen produced with renewable energies really has a positive impact on climate change and helps to make mobility really more climate-friendly .
Can you please briefly outline what is specifically promoted?
Simone Lang: Yes, gladly. First of all, it is about gas stations. Here both in-house and publicly accessible gas stations are promoted. Furthermore, both still the promotion of an electrolyzer is additionally to the option. For in-house filling stations, a maximum of three vehicles can be subsidized, whether for acquisition or conversion. The proportion of green hydrogen must be at least 50 percent of the hydrogen delivered. 100 percent is currently not possible because there is simply not that much available here in Germany.
In this context, it is also important to note that when an electrolyzer is subsidized, it must be proven that the electrolyzer is operated with 100 percent renewable energy .
The high funding amounts show how essential the goal is to establish hydrogen in mobility . In the case of a public service station, for example, up to 90 percent of the investment costs are subsidized. For in-house filling stations, the electrolyzers and the vehicles, 40 percent of the additional costs compared to conventional technology are subsidized. Since there is no comparative technology in the sense of an electrolyzer now, a fixed amount of 250€/kW is set here.
Have you already had experience with a hydrogen vehicle?
Simone Lang: Privately, I do not own a hydrogen car, but ride my bike. However, I was already allowed to take a test drive with our new company car , a Mercedes GLC F-Cell, which recently joined the Bayern Innovativ fleet. That's fun - especially when you drive "humanely" and can thus increase the range.
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