HyStarter II: Region Westpfalz 

The Westpflaz (West Palatinate) region is made up of the three independent cities of Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens and Zweibrücken and the four administrative districts of Kusel, Kaiserslautern, Südwestpfalz and Donnersbergkreis. Approximately 520,000 inhabitants live in the region. In recent years, the area surrounding the scientific centre of Kaiserslautern has developed into one of the leading technology locations in southwestern Germany. The region is ideally suited for the further expansion and use of renewable energies due to its many windy locations, above-average levels of sunshine and relatively sparse population. Promising initiatives in the field of hydrogen, which the association ZukunftsRegion Westpfalz wants to bundle, are aimed at mastering the challenge of storing and using energy locally and promoting the use of hydrogen.

• Production potential: Approx. 2.4 GW by 2030 through renewable energies
• Distribution potential: Trans-European gas pipelines in the region
• Application potential: Mobility (buses, waste collection vehicles, trucks, trains, agricultural machinery), industry (energy-intensive companies), new business models
• Linkage with other future-oriented technologies (circular economy, digitalisation)
• Utilisation of synergy effects and knowledge transfer between stakeholders
• Western Palatinate as a “living laboratory” for structured solutions in rural areas
• Bridging the gap between the surrounding hydrogen regions

Blue Corridor – Kaiserslautern Hydrogen Initiative – Corning GmbH – EMS Elektro Metall Schwanenmühle GmbH – Energieagentur Rheinland-Pfalz – Heinz2-O Stiftung – Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences – Pfalzwerke AG – Prüf- und Forschungsinstitut Pirmasens e.V. – Schuster & Sohn KG – Stadtbildpflege Kaiserslautern – SWK Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern Versorgungs-AG – Technical University of Kaiserslautern – WVE GmbH Kaiserslautern – ZAK Zentrale Abfallwirtschhaft Kaiserslautern AöR – ZukunftsRegion Westpfalz e.V.- Zweckverband SPNV Rheinland-Pfalz Süd