The project is backed by a consortium of Oldenburg-based companies. This includes three members of the Planning Association Energy and Environment - Overspeed GmbH & Co. KG, PLANET GbR and Projekt Ökovest GmbH - as well as Oldenburg University and energy und meteo systems GmbH. The project is part-funded by the utility EWE AG, the State of Lower Saxony and the European Fund for Regional Development.

"One reason for our success certainly is the fact that we combine various levels of research and business,” says the project leader, Dr. Hans-Peter Waldl of Overspeed GmbH & Co. KG. Scientists cooperate with engineering and consulting firms from the fields of wind energy, hydrogen technology and IT systems, as well as with financial service providers and utilities. The project goal is to develop a system that combines wind farms with hydrogen energy storage. This aims to avoid fluctuating electricity feed-in from wind turbines, especially during periods with low wind speeds. Key elements of this kind of system are electrolysers, hydrogen storage units, fuel cells and intelligent controls that optimise operation of the system as a whole, on the basis of forecasts of the consumption and production of wind-generated electricity.

Dr. Waldl stresses that the German government's climate protection targets demand the replacement of a large proportion of conventional power stations with wind farms in the future. That makes energy storage solutions for periods of low wind essential. "Hydrogen technology is the obvious answer because hydrogen-based storage systems can be installed virtually anywhere and in any size," he says.

As a rule, it takes 10 to 15 years to introduce new technologies like HyWindBalance. Therefore, the development of wind-hydrogen systems must begin today, as Dr. Robert Steinberger-Wilckens (PLANET), co-leader of the project, points out. "Starting now is vital in order to achieve improvement and cost reductions of the components on time," he claims.

The prize (formerly known as the Bremer Umweltpreis, or Bremen Environment Prize) supports activities that stand out for excellent, exemplary and voluntary environment commitment beyond the scope of statutory regulations. The awards, with a total value of EUR 50,000, were handed over at a ceremony attended by some 400 guests from business, politics and science.