Stuttgart's Hydrogen Hub Expands: Four Storage Tanks and AI for Greater Flexibility
Stuttgart – Stadtwerke Stuttgart is further developing the Green Hydrogen Hub Stuttgart at the port into a flexible, market-oriented hydrogen production facility. With the installation of several buffer storage tanks and a parallel research project on AI-supported operational optimization, both the construction and control-technology sides of the project are taking shape.
Four Storage Tanks with 328 Cubic Meters of Volume Installed at the Port
Four low-pressure storage tanks have been installed at the Stuttgart-Wangen site, each weighing around 65 tonnes and standing 22 meters tall. Together, they offer a volume of 328 cubic meters and can hold up to around 2,100 kilograms of hydrogen. According to the company, this amount corresponds to a range of up to 20,000 kilometers for a hydrogen bus. The tanks were delivered by heavy-load transport and installed using two cranes.
The tanks are intended to eventually buffer hydrogen produced from renewable energy before it is transported to customers via the hydrogen pipeline or by trailer. "The four unmistakable low-pressure storage tanks will shape the appearance of our Green Hydrogen Hub going forward. The tanks connect hydrogen production and supply in a sensible and flexible way," said Peter Drausnigg, Technical Managing Director of Stadtwerke Stuttgart.
SCH2EDULIZER Project Developed in Parallel to Link Electrolysis Operations to Power Prices
In parallel with construction progress on the storage tanks, Stadtwerke Stuttgart and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) have launched the two-year joint project "SCH2EDULIZER." The goal is to develop AI-supported software that controls operation of the four electrolysers at the Green Hydrogen Hub so that production takes priority when renewable electricity is available at low cost on the market. Battery storage systems are intended to step in when prices are higher or when additional capacity is needed. The project is supported through the Invest BW program run by Baden-Württemberg's Ministry of Economic Affairs.
"Green hydrogen becomes more economical not only through better technology, but also through intelligent operation," said Jonas Petzschmann of ZSW, which is developing the optimization models for the project. Stadtwerke Stuttgart, as the practical partner, is responsible for implementing the software in day-to-day operations at the Green Hydrogen Hub and testing it there.
Hydrogen Project a Building Block of Climate Neutrality by 2035
Stadtwerke Stuttgart's hydrogen project is divided into five sub-projects: the electrolyser, the H2 GeNeSiS pipeline, the Green Hydrogen Hub itself, the SCH2EDULIZER software, and the planned expansion project GH2S+. The company views the hydrogen project as a whole as a central contribution to the state capital Stuttgart's climate targets, which call for climate neutrality by 2035. Both the newly installed storage tanks and the control software currently in development are designed to fit into a structure that aligns hydrogen production, storage, and market-oriented control as interlinked components.
Test operations at the Green Hydrogen Hub are scheduled to begin at the end of 2027. Whether the intended market-based flexibility proves effective in day-to-day operation will become clear as SCH2EDULIZER is further developed and tested.
Source: IWR Online, 01 Sep 2026
