Millions to finance Franconian hydrogen project

Multi-million dollar funding for a hydrogen project in Central Franconia: Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) has presented Erlangen Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies with a financing notice of 72.5 million euros. The federal government covers 70 percent of the Free State funds Bavaria 30 percent.

The company wants to use it to build a liquid hydrogen distribution plant in Bavaria. Through the “Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube” project, up to 1,800 tons of hydrogen will be delivered to industrial companies in the Danube region each year from 2028. The location of the facility has not yet been determined.

Habeck described the system developed by the Erlangen company as a pioneering work and praised the flexible application possibilities of the so-called LOHC technology. Bavarian Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) spoke of a project with a futuristic character. He handed over the financing notice to the Free State together with State Secretary Florian Herrmann (CSU).

Liquid organic hydrogen carriers

LOHC stands for Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers and means that hydrogen can be bound to a liquid so it can be better stored and transported. The Erlangen-based company uses flame-resistant benzyl toluene.

According to the company, this offers the advantage of being able to bond hydrogen to the liquid at much lower temperatures than ammonia, as used in other solutions. Benzyl toluene is also safer to handle than ammonia. The oil can be transported by truck, train or even ship.

In addition to liquid hydrogen distribution systems, the company is also developing hydrogen storage systems and working with partners on solutions for transportation and the use of LOHC technology in the field of mobility.