Gwangyang City and City Council Benchmark German Hydrogen City

Exploring Hydrogen Technology Adoption and Energy Efficiency Measures

Gwangyang City and the Gwangyang City Council announced on the 25th that they visited Germany, a leading European country in hydrogen technology, from the 16th to the 22nd for a 5-night, 7-day trip to explore concrete implementation strategies and cooperation measures for the Gwangyang Hydrogen City development project.

The delegation included Kim Gihong, Deputy Mayor of Gwangyang, Choi Daewon, Chairman of the Gwangyang City Council, members of the City Council's Industry and Construction Committee, and related public officials, totaling 14 participants.

Gwangyang City and the City Council visited Germany, a leading country in hydrogen technology in Europe, for 5 nights and 7 days from the 16th to the 22nd, exploring concrete implementation strategies and cooperation plans for the Gwangyang City hydrogen city development project. Photo by Gwangyang City

The delegation first visited Siemens Energy in Berlin, Germany. Siemens Energy operates gigawatt (GW)-scale water electrolysis plants and automated production lines, aiming to expand its production capacity to at least 3 GW by 2025.

Siemens Energy, which invested approximately 30 million euros (about 42 billion KRW) to produce 300,000 tons of green hydrogen annually, has expanded its water electrolysis production line to a scale of 2,000 square meters.

In particular, the delegation toured the automated production line for the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) water electrolysis system and the industrial gas turbine technology that can operate with 100% hydrogen, one of Siemens Energy's core businesses.

This technology is attracting attention in the field of carbon-free clean power generation. Gwangyang officials and city council members engaged in heated discussions to explore the possibility of applying the water electrolysis method to Gwangyang's eco-friendly energy production and climate change response strategies.

On the second day, the delegation visited the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES) hydrogen research center in Leuna, Germany, where they observed a container-type water electrolysis device with a capacity of up to 5 MW and a hydrogen analysis and purification system installed at the outdoor test field, gaining insight into the latest technological trends.

The institute is collaborating with Linde to analyze hydrogen efficiency and quality, focusing especially on experimental and model-based analysis of electrolytic cells and experiments ranging from components to stack level, aiming to improve hydrogen quality and storage efficiency.

Notably, Fraunhofer IWES maintains an industrial partnership with KENTECH (Korea Institute of Energy Technology). In 2021, they signed an agreement to cooperate in the fields of hydrogen production, storage and transportation, utilization, materials research, and safety, aiming to optimize the hydrogen logistics chain and establish a long-term collaborative relationship.

Taking this visit as an opportunity, Gwangyang City signed a memorandum of understanding with Fraunhofer IWES for cooperation and consultation on the Gwangyang Hydrogen City project and hydrogen production facilities.

The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Gihong, Deputy Mayor of Gwangyang, Choi Daewon, Chairman of the Gwangyang City Council, Jan Benske, Deputy Director of Fraunhofer IWES, Johannes Hoeplinger, Head of Leuna Hydrogen Lab, and about 20 other officials. Through this agreement, both parties agreed to strengthen cooperation on the Gwangyang Hydrogen City project and consultation for hydrogen production facilities.

The main contents of the agreement include: ▲ R&D cooperation in the development and inspection of materials, components, and systems related to water electrolysis-based hydrogen production and utilization ▲ Fostering hydrogen value chain companies through joint project discovery ▲ Cooperation on the Gwangyang Hydrogen City development project and consultation on hydrogen production facilities.

In particular, all buildings in Bahnstadt are constructed according to the passive house standard, maximizing energy efficiency.

The area's energy is supplied 100% by renewable sources and is efficiently distributed through a district heating system.

Additionally, by utilizing a biomass combined heat and power plant (CHP), renewable energy is produced, resulting in about 90% energy savings compared to ordinary buildings.

Based on the success of Bahnstadt, Heidelberg City aims to operate the entire city with 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Kim Gihong, Deputy Mayor of Gwangyang, said, "This visit to Germany will serve as an important stepping stone to enhance the completeness of Gwangyang's Hydrogen City project and contribute to building a global hydrogen economy. We will continue close cooperation, including verifying the water electrolysis production method together with KENTECH and implementing the memorandum of understanding signed with Fraunhofer Institute."

Choi Daewon, Chairman of the Gwangyang City Council, also stated, "This has broadened our understanding of hydrogen city development. The City Council will actively support Gwangyang City to lead the hydrogen industry in Korea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.