City of Freiburg, ASF and badenova Open Hydrogen Filling Station

With the opening of its own hydrogen filling station, the city of Freiburg, regional energy supplier badenova, and waste management and city cleaning company Stadtreinigung Freiburg (ASF) are jointly sending a strong signal for sustainable mobility and the municipal energy transition. This marks a first milestone in the establishment of a self-sufficient hydrogen infrastructure for regional waste management. In addition to the new hydrogen filling station, ASF Solar will also be building an electrolysis plant on the site from 2026, whose energy requirements will be largely covered by a photovoltaic system built specifically for this purpose.

A new solar park covering an area of around 2.4 hectares will be built on the eastern slope of the former landfill site in 2025. From 2026, around 40 percent (2.5 GWh) of the electricity generated there will supply the newly built electrolysis plant, which will be capable of producing up to 140 tons of green hydrogen per year. In addition, the electrolysis plant will be operated using a mix of regional and purchased green electricity. Until the company's own electrolysis plant goes into operation, the filling station will be supplied with hydrogen from a regional gas supplier.

The holistically conceived concept combines the switch to climate-neutral drives with the development of a dedicated hydrogen infrastructure, thereby laying the foundation for permanently sustainable municipal waste disposal. For those involved, the project serves as a beacon, as many steps in this combination are being implemented for the first time and their interaction paves the way for a hydrogen future.

"The city of Freiburg, badenova, and ASF all want to be climate-neutral by 2035. To achieve this, we need courage, a pioneering spirit, and very specific projects. However, we can only achieve our ambitious goals if we work hand in hand and develop supply and demand in sync, especially when it comes to new topics such as hydrogen. This flagship project combines many of the things that represent our Freiburg spirit and innovation. We have converted ASF's entire waste collection fleet to fuel cells and are building a PV system and electrolyzer on a former landfill site to supply green energy. This will enable the urgently needed transformation to succeed," says Mayor Martin Horn.