At the Moorburg energy site, partners Hamburger Energiewerke and Luxcara are developing the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub (HGHH), including a 100-megawatt electrolyser for the production of renewable hydrogen (RFNBO) using wind and solar power right on the city’s doorstep. Via the H₂ Connector being built at the same site, the locally produced hydrogen will be fed into Hamburg’s Hydrogen Industry Network (HH-WIN) and supplied to industrial users. This will make Moorburg an important hub for Hamburg’s hydrogen economy and the transformation of its energy supply – “Made in Hamburg”.

The future of flying is decarbonized. Airbus aims to prepare for this transformation in the coming years by developing hydrogen-powered aircraft concepts as part of its ZEROe project, with the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions from flight operations. At the Airbus site in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, this vision is being pursued in two ways. First, the company plans to develop fuel cell systems and the associated production processes, while also investigating the requirements for hydrogen infrastructure. Second, production and logistics processes at the Hamburg site are to be decarbonized, in part through the use of hydrogen.

As part of its “Hydrogen Logistics Applications & Distribution” (H₂LOAD) project, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) plans to equip various types of heavy-duty equipment, such as container carriers, terminal tractors, and forklifts, with fuel cell drives. A hydrogen refueling station at the HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort has already been in operation since 2024. If the project proves successful, the company sees potential to transfer the experience gained in Hamburg to its other German and numerous European locations on a larger scale. In this way, HHLA can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in European logistics. With its hydrogen strategy, HHLA is positioning itself as a logistics group engaged both in the import and distribution of hydrogen, while also advancing the use of fuel cells in cargo handling equipment and in road-based heavy-duty transport.

In autumn 2022, H&R inaugurated a new Power-to-Liquid (PtL) demonstration plant at the production site of Ölwerke Schindler GmbH. The facility aims to produce synthesis-based alternatives to fossil raw materials. This demonstration project is one of the world’s first technical-scale PtL concepts, delivering so-called e-fuels and synthetic raw waxes, which will be marketed through the joint venture P2X-Europe between MB Energy and H&R. With the Hamburg project, the project partners have begun developing new markets for lower-emission e-fuels and speciality products for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

As one of Germany’s leading independent and integrated energy companies, MB Energy aims to play a key role in supplying Hamburg with low-emission and low-carbon hydrogen. The company is preparing to retrofit its existing tank terminal in Hamburg to enable the supply of ammonia to Northern Germany’s industry Ammonia can also be used as a hydrogen carrier. Part of the ammonia is therefore planned to be converted back into hydrogen in a future cracking facility. The resulting hydrogen would then be fed directly into the regional HH-WIN network, enabling onward transport to industrial, infrastructure, and research facilities across Germany. In this way, MB Energy would become a strategic link between the international energy transition and local transformation, helping to establish a foundation for Hamburg’s resilience to future energy shortages.

Hywax GmbH, part of an international group specializing in the production of waxes, operates state-of-the-art wax hydrogenation facilities in Hamburg. Waxes are used in many everyday products such as candles, all types of packaging, rubber goods, and cosmetics. They are also indispensable auxiliary materials in numerous manufacturing processes. In the future, renewable hydrogen that meets the EU criteria for RFNBO (Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin) is planned to be used in the hydrogenation processes. Replacing hydrogen from fossil sources with renewable hydrogen can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from wax production at the Hamburg site.

As part of the Northern German Living Lab, Hamburg Airport aims to transition its ground logistics processes to lower-emission drive technologies. Hydrogen-based intralogistics using fuel cell-powered passenger vehicles in the airport’s own fleet and fuel cell-powered baggage tractors will be tested to assess how greenhouse gas emissions from ground operations can be reduced. Since July 2025, the first prototype has been in a test phase expected to last six to nine months. The trials focus on evaluating technical functionality, energy consumption, and the economic feasibility of broader deployment. In cooperation with the Heide refinery, Hamburg Airport is also participating in the KEROSyN100 project. The aim is to create the conditions for the future use of synthetic aviation fuel. Together with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Hamburg Airport has presented a roadmap that outlines the necessary steps for establishing hydrogen infrastructure at medium-sized airports.

Using hydrogen instead of natural gas in anode furnaces can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from copper production and make the process more efficient. By using hydrogen on an industrial scale, Aurubis is taking another step towards lower-emission multimetal production. In the copper production process at the Hamburg site, new anode furnaces play a central role. In 2024, Aurubis prepared these furnaces to enable future operation with hydrogen. Until now, the processing of raw copper has relied on natural gas, which generates significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂). By using hydrogen (H₂) as a reducing agent in the future, the Hamburg plant will be able to cut CO₂ emissions by around 5,000 tons per year.

As one of the region’s leading technology companies, tesa is taking the lead as both an end user and an innovation driver. By using renewable hydrogen (RFNBO) in its energy-intensive manufacturing processes, the company demonstrates how lower-emission production can work in practice. The hydrogen is supplied directly through the HH-WIN network. In this way, tesa combines ecological responsibility with economic competitiveness and highlights how companies can actively become part of the regional hydrogen cycle through local integration.

The H₂ Connector is being built on the site of the former Moorburg power plant. It will provide the central infrastructure for operating Hamburg’s Hydrogen Industry Network (HH-WIN). The facility will connect the large-scale electrolyzer of the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub, the nationwide hydrogen core network in Germany, and the HH-WIN distribution network. The facility will enable locally produced hydrogen to be supplied to HH-WIN and allow hydrogen to be supplied from the national transmission network. It will also adjust pressure from up to 70 bar in the transmission network to below 25 bar for HH-WIN. In the future, hydrogen will also be able to flow in the opposite direction, from Hamburg into the nationwide network.

HOLBORN Europa Raffinerie in Hamburg-Harburg reliably supplies northern Germany with fuels, heating products and feedstocks for the chemical industry. At its refinery site, the company plans to produce around 220,000 tonnes of HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) and SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) per year in its GDP (Green Diesel Production) complex, using waste cooking oils and other biogenic by-products as feedstocks. As part of the hydrotreating process, HOLBORN uses hydrogen to convert these feedstocks into fuels. Compared with fossil diesel, HVO generates lower greenhouse gas emissions in road transport. SAF also reduces greenhouse gas emissions from aviation compared with fossil-based kerosene. With the planned production volume, up to 800,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions could be avoided in the transport sector each year.