As one of the main partners of ITZ Nord – the Innovation and Technology Center for Hydrogen Technologies – ZAL invited participants to the ZAL TechCenter on June 9. More than 90 participants from all over Germany came together at a workshop and marketplace on the topic of “ITZ North – Development Status and Next Steps”. Among them were several representatives from the clusters Renewable Energies Hamburg, Hamburg Aviation, the Maritime Cluster Northern Germany, universities, research institutions, and politics.
After a few introductory greetings by Dr. Robby Technow, ZAL GmbH, Dr. Nils Kämpny from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economics also welcomed the guests on behalf of the North German ministries involved in the ITZ Nord. Saskia Deckenbach from the Hanseatic City of Stade and Dr. Saskia Greiner, Bremen/Bremerhaven, then presented the status quo and the procedure for establishing the ITZ North. Afterward, the participants went to the marketplace, where the participating locations presented the planned infrastructures and test stands on exhibition booths. At the Bremen/Bremerhaven booth, visitors were able to see a 3D test stand for H2-powered systems under maritime conditions and the plans for an LH2 test stand for components and parts for use with liquid hydrogen. At the Hamburg booth, the aviation sector was all about Fuel Cell System (FCS) integration, FCS installation, ground operations processes at the airport, and FCS-MRO – for the maritime sector, the focus was on a multi-fuel filling system and component tests for ships. The Hanseatic City of Stade featured a machining and assembly center for small and large volume H2 storage structures as well as Functional Testing of H2 lightweight structures. After a networking lunch, the participants together drew a conclusion on the exhibited technologies. Peter Lindlahr from hySOLUTIONS summarized the results and gave an outlook on the next steps. In the end, there were guiding tours of the Fuel Cell Lab and the gas storage facility of the ZAL TechCenter. A final highlight, for which the participants showed great interest and enthusiasm.
The event served as a starting point for the realization of the ITZ North: in the next step, the participants will further define the planned infrastructures and test stands.
