Study Tour "Transición Energética 2024"
September 2024.
Our study tour "Energy Transition 2024" with a visit to the fair WindEnergy Hamburg 2024 provided Chilean officials and companies, together with participants from Argentina and Uruguay with a special interest in solutions related to #energytransition, #decarbonization, #renewableenergies, #storage and green #hydrogen, the opportunity to visit events and real first-hand projects.
The tour was organized by AHK Chile in the framework of the Energy-Partnership Chile-Germany. The objective was to present innovative technologies and pioneering projects, in order to adapt them to local conditions.
First day
We had the opportunity to visit Fraunhofer-Institut für Windenergiesysteme (Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems), learning about their unique bearing laboratory for wind turbines, as well as Erneuerbare Energien Hamburg (EEHH) (Renewable Energies Hamburg), learning about the city of Hamburg's plans to position itself as a strategic Hub for renewable energy, hydrogen and its derivatives.
Fraunhofer IWES
Fraunhofer IWES has 112 funded projects (DEU, EU) and cooperates with a large number of universities. They showed us the Large Bearing Laboratory (LBL). The LBL provides experimental testing options for bearings for the next generation of wind turbines. This is where rolling bearings with diameters of up to 6 meters for both #offshore and #onshore use are tested, dismantled, and analyzed.
Fraunhofer has been testing hardware coming from industry since 2009, including
- blade prototypes (extreme load, accelerated lifetime tests)
- nacels (functional, drive train (150% overload capacity), generator, grid compliance)
- electrical integration to the grid (HiL GridCop Bremerhaven)
- hydrogen labs
- wind measurement with buoys
- and the afore mentioned large bearing laboratory
Fraunhofer IWES also provides wind field analysis, e.g. maximum average capacity for designated area, including optimisation to avoid cluster effects, post-construction analysis
Erneuerbare Energien Hamburg Cluster - EEHH
The cluster already has more than 270 members, including project developers, manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, universities and training organisations.
The Hamburg import strategy was presented (7.6 TWh in 2030) which will be updated in 2025. Hamburg is connected to the German hydrogen core network and wants to build terminals for green ammonia and e-fuels as early as 2026:
- NEW Energy Gate: Green Ammonia terminal (Air Product, Mabanaft)
- Hamburg BLUE HUB: e-fuels terminal (Lothar)
The cluster also includes IPCEI projects such as the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub (Moorburg reconverted coal plant to 100 MW electrolysis), H2v compliant with the European delegated acts RED II y RED III. Another IPCEI is the ‘Hamburg Hydrogen Industrial Network’ and IPCEI Woplin: co2-neutral production and regional production de SAF. The experts from the cluster were very interested in the potential for SAF production and fueling at the airport of Santiago de Chile.
The Hamburg Energy Hub has also a potential for sector coupling from PV of 9400 MWp. In 2024, 150 MWp will be used for other sectors such as heating and transport, rising to 800 MWp in 2030 and 1500 MWp in 2035. Today, 30% of district heating is renewable, but by 2045 this is set to rise to 50%. Coal will be replaced by decentralised renewables. Three large heat pumps, each with 260 MW, are planned to utilise the waste heat from industrial processes. CHP from waste incineration is also part of the plan.
Fraunhofer IWES website: Fraunhofer IWES
EEEH Cluster website: Home - Renewable Energies Hamburg | EEHH
Day 2
The eFarm project
creates a secure supply of 100 % green, regionally produced hydrogen from wind and solar power, paving the way for all citizens and companies who want to purchase a hydrogen vehicle. In order to meet the expected demand for mobility, the project comprises:
- Five hydrogen production sites (1.125 MW total capacity) located close to existing wind farms
- Two hydrogen filling stations in Husum and Niebüll
- Two fuel cell buses for regular bus service
- Thirty fuel cell cars with potential for fuelling more than 100 vehicles
The eFarm Nordfriesland project led by GP JOULE Group demonstrates the potential of producing #greenhydrogen from wind energy. It is also a great solution to use surplus electricity in case of grid congestion instead of reducing it. The focus of the tour was on the electrolyser, which converts renewable electricity into hydrogen. We also visited one of the hydrogen charging stations in the city of Husum, where cars and public buses can be fueled with green hydrogen.
After the tour, there was a lively exchange on the topic of hydrogen and the eFarm project. In the process, many interesting parallels and differences in the expansion of renewable energies in Chile and Germany were identified and discussed. In Chile, the topic of hydrogen is just as important as it is here in Germany. In the north of Chile, there is a surplus of electricity, similar to the German situation. This surplus can be stored in the form of hydrogen and thus contribute to the decarbonisation.
Website eFarm: Hydrogen joint project: Using renewable energies sensibly in emission-free mobility.
Website eFarm II: eFarm - Wasserstoff in Nordfriesland | eFarm
Day 3 and 4
WindEnergy Hamburg
For two days we were present at the WindEnergy Hamburg. 1600 companies from 40 countries were showcasing their latest technologies and services to more than 40,000 visitors. We had many fruitful meetings to advance the energy transition in Chile and Germany.
A big thanks to Bundesverband WindEnergie e.V. (German Wind Energy Association) and especially Moritz Röhrs, planning and nature conservation advisor, for the opportunity to talk about the German legislation for #windenergy project planning and the protection of species and the environment. It was a real-life example of international exchange on complex and important issues.
We also had the honour of visiting the stand of the Exportinitiative Energie by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) to figure out about opportunities for cooperation as part of the promotion of medium-sized companies.
Website WindEnergy Hamburg: Join the global on & offshore event - WindEnergy Hamburg
Day 5
We visited three companies that are part of the Energy Hub Wilhelmshaven.
First with Uniper we got to know the first Liquid Natural Gas terminal in Germany, built in a record time of 9 months! Uniper, a Düsseldorf-based energy company with operations in more than 40 countries, focuses on electricity generation, global energy trading and gas storage. It aims to be carbon neutral by 2040, with more than 80% of its electricity generation capacity coming from carbon-free sources by 2030.
The company is developing the Green Wilhelmshaven Terminal (GWT), is expanding its renewable energy and green gas portfolio, and is a leader in hydrogen technology and decarbonisation projects.
Afterwards, Three Energy Solutions (TES) shared with us their strategy to import e-NG (electric natural gas) using existing infrastructures. TES a Belgian hydrogen company, is developing a green energy hub in the port of Wilhelmshaven, Germany, initially using LNG due to the European energy crisis. The project, backed by AltaInvest and costing 25 billion euros by 2045, aims to handle 25 TWh of green gas and more than 5 million tons of hydrogen annually by 2045.
TES plans to start LNG imports in 2025 and then focus on fossil-free green gas. The terminal will have extensive storage capacities and pipeline connections.
Last but not least we visited STORAG ETZEL GmbH. STORAG ETZEL is one of the largest independent storage companies in Europe, offering sustainable storage solutions for the future. The tenants of the caverns are major European and international energy companies. The 51 gas caverns provide space for one sixth of Germany's gas reserves.
In addition to the existing oil and gas caverns, they are also exploring in the project "H2CAST Etzel" the conversion and reorientation of classic oil and gas caverns towards hydrogen, a future "Battery of Europe".
Website Uniper Terminal: Green Wilhelmshaven | Uniper
Website TES: world's leading e-NG producer | TES H2
Website STORAG Etzel: Home | STORAG ETZEL
Presentations
This Study Tour was organized by AHK Chile and takes place within the framework of the Energy Partnership Chile-Germany, an alliance that seeks to increase energy efficiency, promote a greater use of renewable energy, and transform the energy systems of both countries for the future.