The development of a hydrogen economy requires closer interaction between a wide variety of sectors such as electricity, heat and mobility. The necessary adjustments are being researched and prepared on an interdisciplinary basis in the »hyBit«  project. The hydrogen economy is to be tested on a small scale for the whole of Germany. Five project clusters deal with how the implementation of regional hydrogen hubs can be achieved through targeted technical, economic, ecological, legal and social transformation processes. Which findings on synergies and trade-offs can be transferred to a macro-regional hydrogen economy. And how hydrogen, which will be scarce for the foreseeable future, can be used in the transformation with the greatest possible impact.

Fraunhofer UMSICHT works on the topic of thermal management

In the cluster »Design of industrial transformation«, infrastructural concepts for the sector coupling of electricity, hydrogen and heat are to be developed. The focus here is on the overall consideration of the steel plant of Arcelor Mittal Bremen, the industrial port and the urban sector. The scientists of Fraunhofer UMSICHT are responsible for the development of the future heat management. They analyze heat sources and sinks, simulate transformation paths and evaluate the implications for various technical solutions, e.g. the use of thermal high-temperature storage for process heat.

Project manager at Fraunhofer UMSICHT Silas Heim says: »The successive transformation of the steel mill and the associated gradual changes in the plant components of the steelmaking process have far-reaching effects on the existing thermal management of the entire industrial port. The aim is to investigate the aforementioned changes in a holistic approach in order to achieve, in turn, the most optimized possible state of the overall thermal management during and at the time of the transformation.«

Background to the hyBit project

The project  »Hydrogen for Bremen's Industrial Transformation« (hyBit) is a large-scale hydrogen research project funded by the BMBF and consisting of a project consortium of 19 partners from science and industry. The focus is on establishing hydrogen centers in northern Germany, so-called hydrogen hubs. A hydrogen hub combines the production, processing, delivery, storage and final consumption of hydrogen.

The Bremen region is particularly suitable, as it has a wide range of infrastructures such as a port, steelworks, freight transport center, power plants, sewage treatment plant and good freeway connections. The site requires large electrolysis capacities and therefore wants to build capacities in the up to triple-digit MW range. In the »hyBit« project, a hydrogen hub is being built in Bremen's industrial port. The steel mill located there is currently responsible for more than 50 percent of local CO2 emissions. A switch to clean hydrogen will make a significant contribution to achieving Bremen's climate targets.

The project also aims to decarbonize and develop the entire industrial site of Bremen into a hydrogen hub.