To meet the project requirements, next year Hydrogenics will provide the City of Herten with a HySTAT™30 electrolyzer for hydrogen generation and a HyPM™ 50 kW fuel cell power system.

This electrolyzer-fuel cell combination will demonstrate the advantage of hydrogen energy storage, which is highly scalable and capable of storing significant amounts of energy for long periods of time with negligible loss.

From storage, the energy will be redeployed through fuel cells as electricity to the grid, or be used to fuel zero-carbon emission vehicles and other devices such as industrial equipment.

Wind power is an ideal source of renewable energy for communities, and is seen as offering significant potential as part of Germany’s announced commitment to phase out all nuclear power by 2020. By incorporating a hydrogen energy storage system, excess wind power can be stored and redeployed when the wind is not blowing, with zero carbon emissions.

‘Electrolyzing water into hydrogen using excess intermittent renewable energy is the optimal clean pathway to smart grid stabilization and energy storage capacity,’ says Daryl Wilson, President and CEO of Hydrogenics. ‘It has real advantages over alternative energy storage solutions.’

Herten, in North Rhine-Westphalia, is recognized as a major German hydrogen cluster for electromobility, as well as renewable energy projects. Since 2009 the regional urban transit authority has been operating two hybrid buses powered by Hydrogenics fuel cells.