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H2Future, one of the world’s longest-running green-hydrogen projects, will be further expanded

| By Mary Bailey

voestalpine (Linz, Austria) and VERBUND are further extending one of the world’s longest-running proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis plants, H2FUTURE, in Linz, Austria. The expansion includes the production, compression, purification, storage, loading, and further use of green hydrogen. To this end, the plant at the voestalpine site—commissioned in 2019 as the world’s largest hydrogen pilot project at the time—will be expanded to include a compression and purification plant, as well as five hydrogen storage tanks. The costs for expanding the research project amount to €16.4 million.

H2FUTURE Follow-up is a joint research project of the international steel and technology group voestalpine and Austria’s largest electricity supply company VERBUND. As an integral part of H2FUTURE Follow-up, the previous research activities on hydrogen production are being systematically continued in terms of quality characteristics of purity and pressure. The hydrogen is stored in the newly constructed storage tanks until it is loaded for transport and further use. Preparations for the plant expansion have been underway for two years; installation of the facilities is now in progress. Functional tests will start in January 2026 and the first research results are expected at the end of 2026. The project ends in December 2029.

voestalpine will be using the green hydrogen in other Group research projects.

The H2FUTURE plant, which has been in operation since 2019, is one of the world’s longest-running proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis plants. It consists of 12 “stacks,” each with 50 electrolysis cells, and has a connected load of six megawatts. This plant can produce 1,200 cubic meters of green hydrogen per hour. Since its commissioning, it has produced several hundred tons of green hydrogen, and carried out numerous test programs. A “stress test” confirmed the load capacity of the system in continuous operation and its ability to react quickly to large load changes. It is used in particular to compensate for frequency fluctuations in the electricity grid caused by the irregular availability of renewable energies or varying electricity demand.