The city and district of Aschaffenburg and also the district of Miltenberg belong to the Rhine-Main metropolitan region. The logistics industry is an important economic pillar here. And this is exactly where hydrogen and fuel cells come into play when it comes to climate-friendly drives. The municipalities therefore want to advance this technology further. Because hydrogen is considered clean, sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Cross-border cooperation with Hessen
The Bavarian Lower Main has teamed up with municipalities from Hessen on the subject of hydrogen and fuel cells. Joint plans and strategies were discussed in regional conferences, as Dieter Gerlach, Managing Director of Aschaffenburger Stadtwerke, explains in a BR24 conversation. The main focus here was on traffic issues.
Soon hydrogen buses and garbage trucks in Aschaffenburg
In the city of Aschaffenburg, the municipal utilities want to purchase new buses that run on fuel cells. The first bus with the environmentally friendly hydrogen technology could be on the road as early as next year, as could the first garbage truck, says Gerlach. The main advantage over electric batteries, which have to be charged from the mains, is the greater range of the vehicles. This means that there is less interim charging.
Fuel cell better than battery in terms of range
Hydrogen is not only interesting for local public transport, but also for the logistics industry. According to Gerlach, talks are already underway with various companies in the Rhine-Main metropolitan region to supply trucks with hydrogen. Some companies have already shown interest in equipping vehicles with fuel cells – as soon as a filling station is available.
Three hydrogen filling stations are to come on the Lower Main
In order to be able to operate vehicles, hydrogen filling stations are necessary. In the Bavarian Lower Main, three are currently being planned with corresponding funding applications, in the city of Aschaffenburg and in the districts of Aschaffenburg and Miltenberg. Gerlach assumes that there will be a hydrogen filling station in Aschaffenburg next year.
State funding for fuel cell heating
But hydrogen technology is also an interesting alternative in the private sector, according to Gerlach, namely for heating. Fuel cell heating is already available for every household. It is around 10,000 euros more expensive to buy than a conventional gas heater. The head of the municipal utilities concluded that the initially higher costs could be absorbed in the following years by state subsidy programs.
???? What are the benefits of hydrogen?
Hydrogen, and with it the fuel cell, are key to the energy transition – and that in two respects. With the help of electricity, water can be split into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. If the hydrogen is combined with excess carbon dioxide, i.e. CO2, a synthetic gas is created: methane, also known as green natural gas, which, not least, can be stored anywhere in the gas pipeline network. Conversely, the fuel cell can be used to generate electricity and heat from the stored hydrogen.
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