The city of Hamburg in Northern Germany aims to become home to the world's largest hydrogen electrolysis plant with a capacity of 100 megawatts, reports the public broadcaster NDR. The city's economy senator, Michael Westhagemann, said a final decision whether to construct the facility in the port area will be taken by the end of 2019. According to the article, the plant running on electricity from wind turbines will would be able to produce about 22,000 cubic metres of hydrogen per hour, enough to power a passenger car for a range of 200,000 kilometres. It will cost a three-digit million euro sum and will be funded with German and EU support.

The government of Germany's largest state of Bavaria, meanwhile, has established a research centre for hydrogen (H2.B) tasked with developing a hydrogen strategy for the state. The centre is supported by an industry alliance, which includes carmakers Audi and BMW, Siemens and energy supplier Bayernwerk, reports Die Welt. The goal is to make Bavaria a leading location for the manufacturing of key hydrogen technologies, said the state government in a press release.

The production of “green hydrogen” with renewable power using electrolysis has lately become a hot topic in German industry, and a whole range of projects are dedicated to the development of the technology. Using renewable electricity to produce fossil fuel substitutes could solve some of the Energiewende’s toughest challenges, such as energy storage and heavy-duty freight transport. The federal government plans to decide on a “hydrogen strategy“ by the end of the year.