This is precisely where the new Hydrogen Integration Platform (HIP) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) comes into play. With the launch of this research infrastructure on the North Campus, KIT is expanding its capabilities to study hydrogen technologies not only individually but also as an integrated system under real-world conditions.

The platform connects facilities and demonstration projects across the entire hydrogen value chain—from electrolysis and liquefaction through storage and transportation to use in the energy system. Researchers are investigating how hydrogen technologies can be reliably, flexibly, and efficiently integrated into a climate-neutral energy system in the future.

In June, KIT opened the new research facility on the Energy Lab campus.

“With the Hydrogen Integration Platform, we at KIT have created a highly innovative research environment because it allows us to study how different hydrogen technologies interact,” says Professor Oliver Kraft, Vice President for Research, Teaching, and Academic Affairs at KIT. “This makes it possible not only to develop new solutions for a climate-neutral energy system in the lab, but also to test them under conditions that closely resemble real-world scenarios.”

Infrastructure for the Integration of Technologies

The challenge of establishing a hydrogen economy lies not solely in individual technical components. What matters most is how production, storage, transportation, and use interact. The Hydrogen Integration Platform therefore brings together several demonstration facilities to store, distribute, and use hydrogen.

At the heart of HIP is Germany's largest non-commercial hydrogen liquefaction system. The facility can liquefy 50 kilograms of hydrogen per day and supplies it to both research projects at KIT and external partners.

In this way, the platform creates an infrastructure in which various technologies can be tested under conditions that more closely resemble their eventual industrial applications. It also provides test environments for energy storage systems, real-time simulations of their integration into future energy grids, and new electrolysis processes.

The researchers also plan to study hydrogen-powered rail vehicles under realistic conditions.

“With the HIP, we can test key components of the hydrogen value chain within an integrated infrastructure,” explains Professor Giovanni De Carne of the Institute of Technical Physics (ITEP) at KIT and future director of the facility. “This opens up new opportunities to further develop technologies in a targeted manner and tailor them to specific applications.”

Liquid hydrogen and electricity in a single pipeline

Another component of the research platform is a test track for a hybrid energy pipeline. The idea is that liquid hydrogen and electrical energy could be transported together over long distances in the future.

To achieve this, the researchers are combining a pipe for extremely cold, liquid hydrogen with superconducting power cables. At these low temperatures, these cables can transmit electrical energy with virtually no loss.

The infrastructure could efficiently transport large amounts of energy over long distances—for example, from wind and solar farms or port terminals to industrial facilities, airports, or logistics centers.

“Hybrid energy pipelines could become compact energy highways for a future hydrogen economy,” says Professor Tabea Arndt of ITEP. “The combination of hydrogen pipelines and superconducting cables makes it possible to flexibly integrate energy supply, industry, and mobility.”

The combination of liquid hydrogen and superconductivity also opens up further technical possibilities. For example, superconducting motors for large vehicles could benefit from being combined with liquid hydrogen. The project participants also intend to investigate this possibility experimentally.

Research as a Bridge to the Hydrogen Economy

With the Hydrogen Integration Platform, KIT is creating a platform where complex hydrogen systems can be studied and further developed under real-world conditions.

The infrastructure makes it possible to test new technologies at an early stage, develop operational strategies, and analyze their interaction with power grids and industrial applications. The goal is to bridge the gap between research and subsequent practical application.

In the future, the research infrastructure is expected to further strengthen collaboration with industry partners and help bring new hydrogen technologies to market more quickly.

The HIP thus sees itself not merely as a collection of individual facilities, but as a test environment for an energy system in which hydrogen could play a central role.

Source: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology