The plant complex marks a significant step towards a sustainable and emission-free future of waste disposal logistics. In addition to electricity and district heating, AGR now also produces hydrogen from waste. In addition, AGR will be able to supply green hydrogen to other customers through its own production of green hydrogen and with a trailer station.
Herten, June 26, 2024 - AGR Abfallentsorgungs-Gesellschaft Ruhrgebiet mbH (AGR) has opened a high-performance hydrogen filling station with a production capacity of 1,600 kg per day. The plant complex marks a significant step towards a sustainable and emission-free future of waste disposal logistics. In addition to electricity and district heating, AGR now also produces hydrogen from waste. In addition, AGR will be able to supply green hydrogen to other customers through its own production of green hydrogen and with a trailer station.
At the opening on June 25, 2024, this significant milestone was celebrated together with representatives from state and local politics as well as business representatives from the region. For many years, AGR has been producing electricity and district heating from the waste delivered to the RZR Herten. Hydrogen is now also being added.
AGR also obtains the energy required for hydrogen production by increasing the energy efficiency in its own waste incineration plant. H2 production is also designed in such a way that, in addition to electricity from waste incineration, electricity from AGR's own renewable energy sources, such as wind or photovoltaics, can also be used for production.
Ina Scharrenbach, Minister for Home Affairs, Local Government, Construction and Digitalization of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia:
"In times when efficiency and the circular economy are becoming increasingly important, this project - with the associated in-house production of hydrogen - is setting standards for the municipal economy. It shows that ideas beat ideology. Technology-open innovation and sustainability go hand in hand to make waste management more resource-efficient and reduce CO2 emissions. The Ruhr Metropolis is hydrogen-ready."
The production plant with electrolyzers, compressors and storage tanks will produce around 440,000 kg of hydrogen annually for the hydrogen filling station. The connected high-performance hydrogen filling station can fill vehicles with 350 bar and 700 bar at four filling pumps and is therefore suitable for refueling trucks and buses as well as cars. The expected annual production will enable more than 40 million emission-free car kilometers or more than 4 million truck kilometers. Waste vehicles from AGR's own fleet and from surrounding municipalities can be refueled in this way in the future. A further 100,000 kg of hydrogen can be offered to other customers.
Waste to be disposed of is thermally recycled in the waste incineration plant and then converted into electricity. The residual waste bin thus becomes an energy bin in the best sense of the word. The operation of the hydrogen filling station with the hydrogen generated in the RZR is also an important building block on the way to decarbonizing our logistics, but also logistics in the region, and thus contributes to the energy transition and climate protection. At the same time, today marks another important building block in our overall strategy to achieve CO2 neutrality for our company in the medium term ," said Joachim Ronge, Chairman of the AGR Management Board , and at the same time thanked all project partners and the AGR's own project team for their successful joint work.
Following a Europe-wide tender, Linde AG was awarded the contract for the construction of both the production plant and the hydrogen filling station on the AGR factory premises in 2019.
The new hydrogen filling station is open to the public. In addition to the H2 disposal vehicles of the surrounding municipalities, the approximately 30 cars in the AGR vehicle fleet and all other private cars of hydrogen vehicle owners in the area can also be refueled safely and in an environmentally friendly manner.
The hydrogen production project with high-performance filling station was funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport as part of the National Innovation Program for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by the Project Management Agency Jülich (PtJ).
