H2

The Austrian Energy Agency collaborated with ten countries as part of a research cooperation of the International Energy Agency (Technology Collaboration Program, TCP) in Annex 33 of the "Advanced Fuel Cell TCP":

Finland | Germany | France | Israel | Italy | Japan | Korea | Sweden | Switzerland | USA

In Annex 33 (stationary applications), the following tasks are on the agenda:

Subtask 1: Fuel cells for use in residential buildings

Subtask 2: Different fuels for stationary fuel cells

Subtask 3: Opportunities and/or risks for fuel cells due to relevant European directives and other international frameworks (until May 2022)

NEW Subtask 3: Use of stationary fuel cells for climate-neutral neighborhoods (from November 2022 to May 2024)

Subtask 4: Large fuel cell systems and developments in MCFC technology

The Austrian Energy Agency is involved in all subtasks and leads Subtask 3. Until May 2022, the work included analyses of relevant EU directives and regulations. The national implementation of the directives in selected example countries was examined with regard to any opportunities and obstacles for the market implementation of stationary fuel cells.

The new Subtask 3 is now investigating the extent to which stationary fuel cells can be used in integrated energy concepts based on renewable energy sources in energy communities or climate-neutral neighborhoods. Specifically, the following questions are being addressed:

• Analysis of district solutions (mainly abroad or in Annex 33 member states such as Germany) that already rely on decentralized hydrogen solutions. The analyses include the software tools and hardware components that have been used. Furthermore, the success factors that ultimately led to the realization of the project are analyzed.
• Analysis of the Austrian situation with the involvement of relevant stakeholders. Although Austria is a leader in renewable energy systems (including renewable energy communities or citizen communities), Austria is only at the beginning of developments in decentralized hydrogen solutions.
• Modelling or simulation of at least three districts in Austria and development of recommendations for the further promotion of climate-neutral districts, on the one hand for project development, technology providers, software providers and on the other hand for political decision-makers (in the event of existing implementation barriers).

Client	Österreichische Forschungssförderungsgesellschaft (FFG)
Project management	Günter Simader
Project team	Elisabeth Sibille Manuela Chriti Patrick Vidovic
Projectpartner	FEN-Research GmbH
Projekt duration	November 2022 to May 2024