Friesland relies on hydrogen buses

"HyFri" is the name of the project that the Friesland district, Weser-Ems-Bus, the energy service provider EWE, and Schloss Gödens will jointly launch at the end of 2023. At that time, five hydrogen buses will be in operation in the Frisian public transport network.

"By establishing a regional, green hydrogen production, we are making a very significant contribution to reducing CO₂, simultaneously strengthening the local economy and protecting our nature for the people who live here, for tourists, and for coming generations. I am delighted that we have found excellent partners from the industry to jointly embark on the hydrogen era," said District Administrator Sven Ambrosy.

Especially in the World Heritage region, we bear a great responsibility for climate protection.

Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Olaf Lies also sees great potential—green hydrogen is a central building block for the energy transition as an energy carrier and raw material, and committed companies are an important prerequisite for achieving Germany's goals in the National Hydrogen Strategy by 2040. The first step is often the hardest—the public transport project in the Friesland district is taking it and marking the start for the further expansion of the hydrogen economy in the region.

The project partner Friesen Elektra of the Schloss Gödens Group also believes in the huge economic potential for Sande and Friesland.

"We will help to unlock this potential," says Managing Director Maximilian Graf von Wedel-Gödens.

The company operates a wind farm at the Sande site. The upcoming expansion of the wind farm with photovoltaic modules into a hybrid energy park will ensure increased regional availability of green energy, which can be used to produce green hydrogen.
  
The new H2 buses will be put into operation at the end of 2023 by DB-Regio subsidiary Weser-Ems-Bus, which will handle the procurement, commissioning, and maintenance. They will be refueled at a new hydrogen fueling station, which will be conveniently located in Schortens. The fueling station will be operated by a new operating company specifically founded by the partners Weser-Ems Busverkehr GmbH, EWE AG, and the Schloss Gödens Group, according to the press release.

"Our region has already had positive experiences with the use of hydrogen buses in Schleswig-Holstein. We are pleased that we can now bring our expertise in this field to the streets in the Friesland district," says Jan Cyrullies, Managing Director of Weser-Ems-Bus.

Support from the Federal Government

The project is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport within the framework of the HyWays for Future project, which is part of the HyLand program for regional funding. The procurement of the buses will also be supported by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, subject to funding approval, and their operation will be supported with funds from the Friesland district.
 

Weser-Ems Busverkehr GmbH, headquartered in Hamburg, is a subsidiary of DB Regio AG, Division Bus, Region North. Weser-Ems-Bus operates bus services in Lower Saxony from the North Sea to the Osnabrück region. In the transport area of the Ems-Jade Traffic Association (VEJ), the company employs 135 staff and operates 45 of its own buses. Additionally, around 110 vehicles from local partner companies are on the road for Weser-Ems-Bus. DB aims to be climate-neutral by 2040. On this path, DB Regio Bus North is an active part of the traffic transition and increasingly uses vehicles with alternative drives.

What does this mean?

In the bus sector, the fuel cell remains an interesting alternative—especially since the north is close to wind power, which allows for CO2-neutral hydrogen production and eliminates long transport routes.