Fraunhofer institutes to develop climate-friendly alternatives for heavy-duty transport.
Yesterday in Berlin, the Federal Minister of Transport, Dr. Volker Wissing, handed over a funding decision for around 80 million euros to the H2GO project – National Fuel Cell Production Action Plan. This combines the activities of 19 Fraunhofer institutes and aims to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in heavy goods vehicle traffic.
The need for alternatives to fossil fuels is particularly great in this area, according to a statement from the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV). This is because, despite progress in consumption and exhaust technology, the increase in road freight traffic is causing a continuous rise in climate-damaging greenhouse gases.
H2GO is intended to make a significant contribution to the economical and industrial-scale production of fuel cells that convert hydrogen into electricity on board a vehicle. Green hydrogen, produced in a climate-neutral manner with the help of green electricity, is considered a key element of the energy transition. Wissing expects the results that H2GO will produce to significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen vehicles in heavy-duty transport. The project is aimed in particular at small and medium-sized companies that represent the entire value chain of fuel cell production.
According to Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, H2GO will not only take the Federal Republic of Germany an important step forward in terms of climate policy, but will also develop fuel cell production into a central field of expertise for Germany and Europe as a business location. The funding comes from the Automotive Industry Future Fund.
Photo: iStock/Petmal
