With the handover of the funding notification, the official kickoff for the HIC Hydrogen Innovation Center has taken place. The funding notification was handed over today in Berlin by the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, Dr. Volker Wissing. In August of last year, the process for this was already initiated with a Administrative Agreement on Project Financing between the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) and the Saxon State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport (SMWA) closed. In addition to the Chemnitz site of the Innovation and Technology Center for Hydrogen (ITZ H2), facilities in the Northern Germany cluster also received their funding notices.
Dr. Volker Wissing, Federalminister at the Federal MinistryAreIum for Digital and Transport:
„Hydrogen offers a great opportunity to make mobility and the economy more sustainable and climate-neutral. We must seize this potential. This is the only way we can succeed in combining climate policy goals with industrial policy goals while simultaneously advancing technology. The hydrogen innovation and technology centers being funded today are making a crucial contribution to this. The mission is clear: the hydrogen centers are intended to specifically support small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the supplier industry, in their transformation towards climate-friendly technologies. As incubators, they create the conditions for bringing new applications to market maturity – with state-of-the-art development, testing, and trial infrastructure.“
Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs, Dirk Panter, who was represented in Berlin by State Secretary for Economic Affairs Thomas Kralinski, says:
„I am extremely pleased for the city of Chemnitz, whose rich industrial heritage also helped it achieve the title of European Capital of Culture 2025. Chemnitz is now actively shaping the future of the economy again and further expanding its position as an important international hydrogen technology location. Within the ITZ network, the Hydrogen Innovation Center will operate a state-of-the-art testing environment as well as world-class research and development for future hydrogen technologies. HZwo e.V., as the sponsoring body, will ensure that the technology and knowledge transfer services actively shape the transformation of the supplier industry and help meet the growing demand for well-trained specialists in the hydrogen economy. As the Free State of Saxony, we stand by our financial commitment even in these economically challenging times and are co-financing this strategically important project with approximately 14 million euros.“
Karl Lötsch, Managing Director of HIC Hydrogen Innovation Center and HZwo Hydrogen Technology Clusters:
„Today is a big day for us and the Chemnitz hydrogen location, which we have been intensively working towards for a long time. Now we are launching the HIC Hydrogen Innovation Center as a national innovation and technology center for hydrogen at the Chemnitz site. We have been assembling the project team since the beginning of the year, and the HIC Research and Transfer Center will open in the spring of 2025. Companies will receive significant support there in developing components and systems for the core technologies of the hydrogen economy. The hydrogen market is beginning to grow worldwide. Our goal is for companies from Germany, in particular, to benefit from this.“
Next Steps
The HIC Research and Transfer Center at the Technology Campus in Chemnitz will officially start operations in summer 2025. The opening marks the start of the first support services for companies and research institutions. The focus will be on the research and development of new test procedures, digital twins and AI-based data management systems. Other core topics of the HIC are knowledge transfer, the dissemination of research results and their transfer into norms and standards. The next priorities are to complete the construction planning and obtain planning permission so that the foundation stone can be laid as soon as possible. Commissioning of the first construction phase is scheduled for 2026. From 2026, a state-of-the-art test and development environment with hydrogen infrastructure, H₂ laboratories, office space and container parking spaces for developers and companies will be created on the Chemnitz Technology Campus. In the further course of the project, the main focus will be on smoothly completing the remaining construction measures in order to be able to complete the project in 2029.
Hydrogen Technology Location Chemnitz: A Strong Network for the Future
The Chemnitz region has developed into a significant location for hydrogen technology development in Europe. Industry and science work together as a value-creation community, striving for the rapid ramp-up of efficient, scalable production of these hydrogen systems and driving the establishment of an effective hydrogen economy. The HIC is the Chemnitz location of the National Innovation and Technology Center for Hydrogen (ITZ), which was already successful in the federal competition of the BMDV in 2021. With the ITZ H2 The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) is implementing a measure of the National Hydrogen Strategy. The Competence Center for Hydrogen Technologies will strengthen Chemnitz's H2 infrastructure for testing, inspection, certification, and training, and supplement it with rentable H2 laboratories and workshops. The HIC was developed by the hydrogen technology cluster HZwo e.V., which brings together the expertise of around 150 companies and research institutions from Saxony, Germany, as well as Europe and Australia, along the entire hydrogen value chain. The establishment and operation of the HIC will be carried out by its subsidiary HIC gGmbH – Hydrogen Innovation Center, founded in June 2024.
Further Information:
www.hzwo.eu/hic
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HIC Visualization (Image credit: © HZwo e.V.)
Hydrogen Campus (Image credit: © HZwo e.V.)
Transfer of Authority in the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Photo Credit: ©BMDV/Woithe)
Image information: from left, Tom Hentschel (HZwo e.V.), Thomas Kralinski and Heike Hempel (Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, Energy and Climate Protection), Dr. Volker Wissing (Federal MinisterAreIum for Digital and Transport), Dr.-Ing. Robert Krumbach (Auerhammer Metallwerk GmbH | Management Board HZwo e.V.), Karl Lötsch (Managing Director HZwo e.V. and HIC gGmbH), Dr.-Ing. Carsten Pohlmann (Vision One Energy GmbH | Management Board HZwo e.V.), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas von Unwerth (Chemnitz University of Technology | Chairman of the Management Board HZwo e.V.), Dr. Peter Lucas (Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, Energy and Climate Protection)
HIC gGmbH – Hydrogen Innovation Center
Reichenhainer Straße 70
09126 Chemnitz
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