The 16th Power-to-X industry kicked off the new year on 8 January 2025 with the 16th edition of the established “Power-to-X Experts’ Discussion” symposium. The event is organized by the IET Institute for Energy Technology, whose director Markus Friedl is responsible for and moderates the event. This year’s event, which was attended by around 80 participants, was dedicated to the topic of ‘Power-to-X crosses borders’ and featured six lectures.

The activities of the H2-Hub Switzerland

Daniel Lüdin, Office of Clusters & Initiatives of the Logistics Cluster Region Basel, Managing Director H2-HUB Switzerland

The first contribution was dedicated to the hub for green hydrogen in the Basel region, which is characterised by its industry. The H2-Hub Switzerland association, newly founded in February 2024, is a local initiative of the iwb, which aims to strengthen trinational cooperation and achieve a national impact.

The vision is to connect to the European Hydrogen Backbone in Basel – in other words, to connect Switzerland to the European hydrogen network. The framework conditions for this are currently being clarified. The hydrogen produced in Birsfelden, Albbruck and other locations is to be marketed along the High Rhine and in Basel. This requires a corresponding infrastructure for transport and distribution. Various options for the routing of the necessary border crossing points are currently being examined, taking into account not only technical requirements but also financial and regulatory aspects.

A first pilot project has already been launched to implement this. Following last year’s investment decision, construction of the hydrogen production plant in the port of Birsfelden will begin this year. The electrolyser will have an electrical output of 15 MW and will thus be able to produce 270 kg/h of green hydrogen, equivalent to 1,500 tons per year. The hydrogen (and also the oxygen) will be transported by network to local industry. Additionally, the plant will generate 2,200 kg/h of oxygen and provide 19 GWh of waste heat annually for district heating. The first section of the distribution network is already under construction .

Key figures of the Swiss hydrogen strategy

Dr Markus Bareit, Hydrogen Project Manager, Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE)

The new hydrogen strategy for Switzerland was published in December and is now being presented to a specialist audience for the first time at a public event. The hydrogen strategy is based on the federal government’s climate targets, which means that no hydrogen from fossil fuels has been taken into account, but only hydrogen produced in a CO₂-neutral way, using renewable or nuclear electricity.

The guiding principle of the hydrogen strategy shows that hydrogen and Power-to-X will be important components of the future energy system. However, it is essential that only CO₂-neutral electricity is used for production, and that it is only used when it makes economic and ecological sense. Security of supply and domestic production and storage are important issues, as is integration into Europe.

Since Switzerland is not likely to become an exporter of hydrogen, the strategy focused on demand. This is seen in road transport, for high-temperature process heat, peak load coverage and in shipping. It does not include aviation, which is supplied with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) that have to be imported. The BFE assumes that by 2050, domestic hydrogen demand will reach 3.6–10 TWh per year, while by 2030, Swiss demand is expected to be between 0.8 and 1.8 TWh .

A number of measures are also being considered for the implementation of the strategy. For example, the new Climate Protection Act (KIG) Art. 6 promotes new technologies, including hydrogen technologies, with a budget of CHF 1.2 billion over six years. However, it is not the federal government but the relevant economic sectors that are responsible for expanding the infrastructure.

SPIN Co-Managing Director Peter Metzinger asked why the administration always emphasizes the inefficiency of hydrogen production compared to the direct use of electricity. He asked why they do not include the fact in their strategies that in many regions on the planet where energy is abundant and consumers are rare, energy can best be harvested by storing it with the help of Power-to-X. This energy can then be transported to the regions of demand. His question remained basically unanswered.

Hydrogen in Switzerland – Cost comparison of different supply chains

Thorsten Harder, Product Manager, Burckhardt Compression AG

Burckhardt Compression, a globally active company based in Winterthur, has developed a hydrogen division in recent years, which now already accounts for around 10% of its turnover, equating to nearly CHF 100 million annually.

Cost calculations show that hydrogen transported via pipeline offers the lowest costs at CHF 3.00 per kg, whereas transporting hydrogen domestically in trailers can cost up to CHF 7.57 per kg. The most cost-efficient method depends on factors such as transport distance and scale .

Sustainable with Power-to-X

Luka Cuderman, Strategy & Business Manager, Axpo

Currently, around 79% of Switzerland’s final energy consumption is non-renewable. Axpo’s hydrogen production plants, such as the ones in Domat/Ems (2.5 MW), Altdorf (2 MW), and Wildegg-Brugg (up to 15 MW, planned for 2025), aim to address this by producing green hydrogen at full-load hours exceeding 4,500 per year, required for economic feasibility. Electricity costs have increased fourfold from 2019 to 2024, emphasizing the challenge of balancing economic and operational feasibility .

Hydrogen Valley Südbaden

Dieter Sommerhalter, Managing Director, ITG (Infrastruktur-Trägergesellschaft mbH & Co. KG)

The Hydrogen Valley Südbaden project received €6.2 million in funding to create a trinational hydrogen network. By 2032, a 9,040 km hydrogen pipeline network costing €18.9 billion will connect Germany, France, and Switzerland, forming part of the European Hydrogen Backbone. The project’s first hydrogen refueling station is already under construction .

Power-to-X in the future energy system of the Principality of Liechtenstein

Dr Nikolaus von Seemann, Vice President, LIGEN Liechtensteinische Initiativgruppe für Energie-Nachhaltigkeit (e.V.)

Liechtenstein aims to decarbonize its energy system by 2032/2033 with investments totaling CHF 620 million, including CHF 200 million for photovoltaics and a 67 MW electrolyzer running at 2,600 full-load hours per year. Additionally, wind and biogas systems will complement these efforts to provide 640 GWh of electricity, 540 GWh of heat, and 160 GWh of gas annually .

Source: https://www.ost.ch/de/studium/technik/news-technik/rueckblick-16-expertinnengespraeche-power-to-x

Download of the presentations: https://www.ost.ch/de/forschung-und-dienstleistungen/technik/erneuerbare-energien-und-umwelttechnik/iet-institut-fuer-energietechnik/power-to-x/expertinnengespraeche-power-to-x/expertinnengespraeche-08012025

To join SPIN simply send us a message.