The scientists on Ulm’s Eselsberg might have experienced a real roller coaster ride of emotions at the beginning of July 2019. First came the no to the battery location, but then the yes to the fuel cell location.

The commitment to the HyFab came personally from the minister president of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, within the framework of the Strategy Dialogue Automotive Industry BW. This was much more than just a small consolation for Ulm after the announcement that the planned “battery factory” would be located in North Rhine-Westphalia. After all, within the framework of the HyFab project , a research factory for fuel cells and hydrogen is to be built by 2024 which will emphasize the importance of this location in the south of Germany for the H₂ and FC industry beyond the national borders. Although this does not involve hundreds of millions of research funds, it does involve a total of 74 million euros distributed over ten years, of which 18.5 million are available provided by the state.

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In February 2019, Baden-Württemberg’s Environment Minister Franz Untersteller (see interview on p. 16) and Economics Minister Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut had made a commitment to the German government to financially support HyFab. She wrote: “Industrial fuel cell production has enormous potential for climate protection and for Germany as an industrial location HyFab, which is led by the Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, aims to create an open, flexible platform, strengthen the supply industry and develop and test fast, automated production processes for fuel cell stacks.

“In addition, we are working in the Strategy Dialogue Automotive Industry BW on developing a concept and infrastructure for emission-free local public transport based on hydrogen and fuel cell technology.”

Minister president of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann

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read more in H2-international October 2019