Regions series: Berlin-Brandenburg
The project H2CE, initiated and led by the Gemeinsame Landesplanungsabteilung Berlin-Brandenburg, aims to support Central European regions in integrating hydrogen into regional energy planning. The three-year project started April 2023 will run until March 2026. The project partnership consists of twelve partners from seven countries (Germany, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Croatia).
The EU funding instrument Interreg is intended, among other things, to improve transnational cooperation between players from the capital region of Germany and various project partners, in order to be able to develop solutions for territorial challenges in cross-state cooperation areas or macro-regions. Interreg thus supports the cooperation of a wide range of players across borders.
The action field (translated) “Interreg B – Transnational cooperation” includes projects from smaller and larger consortia in transnational cooperation areas. Through the projects, solutions can be developed for territorial challenges in these cooperation areas. The German states Berlin and Brandenburg are, among other things, involved in the program area Central Europe.
The project H2CE should be classified as part of the program priority “Supporting the energy transition towards a climate-neutral Central Europe,” which is a focus in the program period 2021 to 2027. For this project, total funds of EUR 2.39 million are available. EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) constitutes 80 percent.
Strengthening the H2 capability of regions
H2CE is dedicated to the regions’ common challenge of bringing an intelligent integration of hydrogen solutions and renewable energies into the regional energy transition. Through various project activities, decision-making aids will be developed for regional planning institutions and solutions worked out through transnational cooperation. Regional authorities and administrations should acquire skills for setting the framework conditions for the integration of hydrogen into their planning activities.
They should be able to proactively manage and support the regional energy transition and improve their cooperation with industry and project sponsors and thus contribute to accelerating the ramp-up of the regional hydrogen economy. “H2 capability” is to be understood as the acquisition of skills regardless of the importance of the topic of hydrogen for the respective region. H2CE improves the possibilities of the participating regions to assess the importance of the topic of hydrogen in their specific context.
The following project activities are intended to contribute to improving “H2 capability”:
The first work package is dedicated to the H2 capability of the regions in the narrower sense, that is, that the participating regions carry out an analysis of the importance of hydrogen in terms of energy management and planning, which gives them the basis for a hydrogen strategy or action plan. In some of the participating regions, the latter will be carried out as part of this project. In this process, the regions will be supported using developed guidelines. Furthermore, in this work package, the strategic approach will be raised from the regional level to a transnational level. The development of a transnational hydrogen strategy for the participating regions completes the work in this work package.
The second work package deals with developing and testing support mechanisms for the integration of hydrogen into regional and local energy systems. It is about how authorities and institutions that deal with regional energy planning can initiate and implement such support processes. The support mechanisms range from developing and testing energy cell models, participatory approaches to building the technical skills of stakeholders to instruments designed to create incentives. This also includes a GIS-based tool that summarizes the H2 activities in a region and thus supports decision-makers and stakeholders in their work.
The final third work package, building on the other work packages, deals with the network formation of the regions in Central Europe that are concerned with “H2 capability” and with the knowledge transfer of solutions developed at regional, interregional and transnational levels. For this purpose, an interactive platform will be created that any interested region can use even after the project is completed. The network created through the project, “H2-fähiger Regionen in Mitteleuropa” (H2-capable regions in Central Europe), should therefore be institutionalized.
Added value for the capital region Berlin-Brandenburg
The Gemeinsame Landesplanungsabteilung initiated this project because of the potential of green hydrogen as part of the energy transition for the planning regions of the capital region. In addition, the project is embedded in the Scandria Alliance’s objectives as a development corridor.
Apart from the overall coordination of the project, the Gemeinsame Landesplanungsabteilung assumed the management of the first work package. It is developing with the technical support of the Reiner Lemoine Institut the summary of the regional analyzes of the regions involved in the project partnership to be developed in the project, the guidelines for the development of regional hydrogen strategies and action plans and, at the end, a transnational strategy.
The hydrogen strategies for Berlin and Brandenburg can be supported through the project in their implementation from a regional planning perspective. Various planning regions and regional networks of H2 players will be actively involved and integrated in the project work. The Gemeinsame Landesplanung thus is pursuing the creation of synergies with the progressive energy policy and planning processes in the capital region and, through transnational cooperation in Central Europe, relying on the transfer of knowledge and cooperation with other regions in Europe and especially in the German-Polish area.
The northwest of Brandenburg (planning region Prignitz-Oberhavel) is represented, via the project partner Regionalentwicklungsgesellschaft Ostprignitz-Ruppin, as a region from the capital region and will develop a hydrogen action plan as part of the project, for which a hydrogen potential study in 2023 has already laid the foundation. For this, the support of the regional H2 network for northwestern Brandenburg, PROOH2V, will be indispensable.
The utility Stadt- und Überlandwerke Lübben/Spreewald is developing as part of the project an energy cell model that can be transferred to other Brandenburg regions as well as regions from all over Central Europe.
The Gemeinsame Landesplanungsabteilung is working towards efficient knowledge transfer through participation in nationwide networking activities in Berlin and Brandenburg and specific project events, including follow-up events.
In addition, the Gemeinsame Landesplanungsabteilung is an associated partner in other H2 projects from Interreg B programs, namely in HyEfRe (Central Europe) and HyTruck (Baltic Sea).
Authors: Pedro Brosei
Gemeinsame Landesplanungsabteilung Berlin-Brandenburg, Potsdam
Pedro.Brosei@gl.berlin-brandenburg.de
Marcus Schober
Reiner Lemoine Institut gGmbH
marcus.schober@rl-institut.de
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