Hydrogen (H2) is key to achieving climate neutrality by 2040. This colorless gas is 14 times lighter than air and must be produced using energy because it does not occur in nature in its pure form. Green hydrogen therefore requires energy from renewable sources.
To pool research and investment, Upper Austria, Styria and Carinthia have teamed up. Together they form a “hydrogen valley”. After negotiations, the EU is expected to contribute 20 million euros early next year. The cross-state initiative prevailed over several competitors, according to a joint statement by Markus Achleitner and Barbara Ebinger-Meidl (Styria) and Sebastian Schuschnigg (Carinthia), the three deputy economic chancellors.
Projects in detail
The “Hydrogen Valley” comprises 17 projects with a total investment value of 578 million euros, which are scheduled to be implemented between 2025 and 2030. “Six of the projects with an investment value of 385 million euros are being implemented in Upper Austria,” said Achleitner. They range from production and transport to storage and use of hydrogen.
The plan is to build a hydrogen filling station in Marshternack for the fleet of small trucks of furniture retailer IKEA. New electrolysis stations are also planned that will produce more than 10,000 tons of green hydrogen per year and reuse the 30-kilometre gas pipeline between Sättelt and Linz to transport hydrogen.
The demand for hydrogen in Upper Austria, Carinthia and Styria is estimated at more than 13,000 tonnes by 2028. Hydrogen is also said to reduce Austria’s dependence on Russian natural gas imports. With hydrogen from renewable sources, emissions in the steel, chemical and cement industries as well as in the energy and mobility sectors could be significantly reduced.
The state of Upper Austria presented the “Hydrogen Offensive 2030” in April 2023. The Bosch Group is also involved and wants to invest 28 million euros in the hydrogen infrastructure at the Linz site.
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