GP JOULE project eFarm as one of five projects worldwide in new IRENA report

From 13 to 15 January 2023, representatives of 168 governments will meet for the 13th session of the UN General Assembly. At the 6th General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi, a project from North Frisia will also be prominently present: the sustainable hydrogen mobility project eFarm initiated by GP JOULE.

Because eFarm is part of the recently published IRENA report "Sector coupling”: A key concept for accelerating the energy transformation", which will be presented at the Assembly - one of only five outstanding examples of sector coupling or cross-sector linkage in practice worldwide.

At eFarm, excess electricity from wind turbines is converted into green hydrogen in on-site electrolysers. While the hydrogen can be refuelled by cars and trucks at two filling stations in the region and thus, among other things, powers two buses in local public transport without emissions, the waste heat generated during electrolysis at the production site in Bosbüll is fed of electrolysis to around 95 per cent. This way, no energy is lost. GP JOULE was awarded the German Mobility Prize 2022 for this.

Integration of wind and solar power into the energy system

IRENA is an international governmental organisation for the worldwide promotion and sustainable use of renewable energies. It was founded in Bonn in 2009 and today has 168 members, including the European Union. Why is sector coupling of enormous importance for IRENA, the energy turnaround and GP JOULE's goal of "100% renewable energy for all"? "Sector coupling strategies and technologies have the potential to increase the flexibility of energy systems and thereby integrate a higher share of renewable energies," states the introduction to the IRENA report.

This is exactly where eFarm comes in: "What is crucial for the effectiveness of the energy system is when and where the hydrogen is produced," says Ove Petersen, CEO and co-founder of GP JOULE: "On-site generation can use electricity that would otherwise be regulated because it cannot be transported via the grid. Electrolysis close to wind and solar power plants therefore relieves the strain on the grids, reduces ancillary grid costs for all consumers and ensures that much more renewable energy generation can be integrated into the system. If the waste heat is then also used in the electrolysis, the whole thing is highly efficient."

All this has been demonstrated in practice at eFarm since 2021. But eFarm is not only an example for integrating renewable energies into the energy system and for decarbonising the transport sector, but also for regional participation in the energy turnaround: 20 shareholders from the region are involved in eFarm, including several citizen wind farms, which in turn involve several thousand citizens. That’s how the regional energy turnaround works. This is how sector coupling works.

Download the IRENA Report

Read the entire report "Sector coupling: A key concept for accelerating the energy transformation" can be found here:https://www.irena.org/Publications/2022/Dec/Sector-coupling-A-key-concept-for-accelerating-the-energy-transformation

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About GP JOULE

As an integrated energy supplier, GP JOULE is active in all areas of the energy value chain: from generating to using energy, from consulting to financing and project planning to construction and service. GP JOULE produces and markets wind and solar power, green hydrogen and heat and makes use of it where it is most effective: in electric and hydrogen-based mobility, in households and in industry. GP JOULE has been shaping the future of energy in Europe from Germany since 2009. With the aim of delivering a secure, independent and sustainable supply of energy. 100 % renewable energy for all.

GP JOULE was awarded the German Mobility Prize 2022 for the hydrogen mobility project eFarm.

About eFarm

The eFarm hydrogen joint project was initiated by GP JOULE in 2017. Twenty regional shareholders are involved, including citizens' wind farms, solar parks and municipal utilities. In the course of the project, a local hydrogen infrastructure was created, ranging from production through electrolysis to distribution and fleet use in fuel cell vehicles. The project includes five electrolysis sites near existing wind farms, two hydrogen refuelling stations, two fuel cell buses and thirty fuel cell cars so far. The waste heat generated at the electrolysers is used to heat buildings.

Press contact
Jürn Kruse
Corporate Communications 
GP JOULE Group
j.kruse(at)gp-joule.de   
Phone +49 (0) 4671-6074-213 
Mobile +49 (0) 160-1540265

GP JOULE GmbH Cecilienkoog 16  •  25821 Reußenköge  •  www.gp-joule.de