Stadtwerke Stuttgart commissions green hydrogen hub, Germany

With a total output of 9 MW, green hydrogen will be produced there for local use in industry and mobility via trailer delivery as well as for feeding into a pipeline for the economic region. A powerful and reliable compression concept is required for these power applications, which comes from the refuelling station and compressor manufacturer Maximator Hydrogen from Thuringia, Germany. Two parallel-operated MAX Compression System 2.0 with a hydraulic drive power of 250 kW make a compressor output of the full 9 MW of production capacity possible. This performance enhances the overall concept of the green hydrogen hub as an economical overall hydrogen system for regional industry and mobility and makes a significant contribution to achieving the climate targets.

The green hydrogen hub project combines the production, transportation, and use of green hydrogen in the Stuttgart region. Green hydrogen is produced with the help of three independent electrolysers with a total output of 9 MW, enabling it to be supplied to companies in the Stuttgart region and creating an economically viable hydrogen system with a focus on the mobility and industrial sectors. The green hydrogen will be transported by pipeline and trailers in the Stuttgart area. In addition, a pipeline is being built from Stuttgart to Esslingen to connect producers and users.

In order to distribute or infeed the hydrogen, it must be brought to the appropriate pressures. Components from Maximator Hydrogen GmbH are used for this purpose. Maximator Hydrogen offers powerful and reliable compression systems that are important for relevant and competitive use in industry. The MAX Compression System 2.0 with the patented automatic seal exchange within a few minutes ensures high availability and reliability without production downtime. Two MAX Compression System 2.0 compressors, each with 250 kW of hydraulic drive power, supply two trailer filling stations, a trailer delivery station, and the H2 GeNeSiS pipeline with hydrogen. A redundant design of the system, completed by options for intermediate storage of the compressed hydrogen, was the top priority in order to guarantee a high level of reliability.

With the 9 MW electrolysis plant from FEST GmbH (a sister company of Maximator Hydrogen in the Schmidt Kranz Group) and the compressor system from Maximator Hydrogen, the concept for the first expansion stage with a production capacity of around 720 tpy of green hydrogen is now in place. An expansion by 3 MW to 12 MW and further expansion stages are already being planned. Due to the modularity of Maximator Hydrogen's components, expansion to meet future and growing requirements has already been planned and can be flexibly adapted to usage requirements.

Rene Himmelstein, CSO of Maximator Hydrogen, commented: “We are pleased that our technology is being integrated into a thought-out overall system that will advance the region's performance and competitiveness and set it up for the future.”

The plant is scheduled to open at the end of 2026 and the project is supported by funding from the EU, the state of Baden-Württemberg, and the Verband Region Stuttgart.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalhydrogenreview.com/hydrogen/29042025/stadtwerke-stuttgart-commissions-green-hydrogen-hub-germany/