Summary
A two-year research project by Empa in collaboration with Hälg Group, Osterwalder Group, and H₂ Energy AG demonstrates the practical suitability of stationary hydrogen fuel cells for stabilizing power grids in district energy systems. The test facility on the Empa campus in Dübendorf was operated between October 2023 and September 2025 and validated parameters for operation and CO₂ reduction potential. The project was supported by the Federal Office of Energy as part of the SWEET-PATHFNDR consortium.
People
- Binod Prasad Koirala (Deputy Head of Empa Research Department Urban Energy Systems)
Topics
- Hydrogen technology
- Energy transition
- Power grids
- Building technology
- Renewable energy
Clarus Lead
The results address a central bottleneck problem in Switzerland's energy transition: While heat pumps and electric vehicles reduce electricity consumption, they simultaneously create massive peak loads on cold days – a challenge that previously had to be solved through expensive grid expansion investments. With peak load supply cost reductions of over 10% and overall efficiencies exceeding 90%, the hydrogen-based solution offers an economically competitive alternative that simultaneously reduces dependence on electricity price volatility and grid infrastructure bottlenecks – a decisive factor for decentralized energy supply to urban districts and large facilities.
Detailed Summary
The core problem lies in the asymmetry between electricity generation and demand: Electric heat pumps require enormous power quantities on cold days, while simultaneously photovoltaic systems and hydroelectric plants have production surpluses. The new fuel cell system uses these surpluses for local hydrogen production and thereby stores energy in a decentralized manner. The innovative approach is that the fuel cell not only supplies electricity but also delivers medium temperatures of approximately 35 °C to the heating network via a special heat exchanger – a dual-use approach that maximizes overall efficiency.
The test facility achieved electrical efficiencies of up to 48% and thermal efficiencies of up to 50%, corresponding to an overall efficiency significantly exceeding 90%. Applied to the entire NEST innovation building, peak load smoothing reduced overall costs by more than 10%. Sensitivity analysis showed that economic viability strongly depends on future electricity price developments, capacity charges, and CO₂ prices. Potential application areas are districts with dominant heat pump technology as well as facilities with regularly high peak load requirements – schools, sports halls, swimming pools, hotels, and logistics centers.
Key Statements
- Hydrogen fuel cells can effectively balance electrical and thermal peak loads in buildings and thereby relieve strain on power grids
- The technology achieves overall efficiencies exceeding 90% and reduces peak load costs by at least 10%
- When using green hydrogen, these systems make a measurable contribution to CO₂ reduction and form an important building block for resilient, low-carbon energy systems
Critical Questions
Scalability and Cost Reduction: The 10% cost savings were measured at a single facility – how do these savings scale with widespread implementation across multiple districts, and at what market penetration do fuel cell hardware investment costs decrease significantly?
Hydrogen Production and Green Electricity Availability: The project relies on hydrogen from production surpluses of PV and hydropower – how is sufficient green hydrogen supply ensured when demand for peak load coverage increases, and what competition emerges with other H₂ applications (industry, mobility)?
Long-Term Durability and Maintenance Costs: The test phase lasted two years – are there data on fuel cell stack degradation, maintenance intervals, and lifetime cost projections that validate the 10% cost savings over 15–20 years?
Regulatory and Incentive Dependence: Economic viability strongly depends on future electricity prices, capacity charges, and CO₂ prices – what political measures or regulations are necessary to ensure investment security for private operators, and how robust is the model against price volatility?
Comparison with Alternatives: How does hydrogen-based peak load coverage perform in direct cost comparison with other technologies – battery storage, demand-side management, grid expansion – particularly considering hydrogen generation efficiency and storage losses?
Source Directory
Primary Source: Hydrogen Fuel Cells in District Energy Systems – Empa Research Project – https://www.news.admin.ch/de/newnsb/kPLYHDI_OcQfLz6WQ1Ogu
Verification Status: ✓ 20.04.2026
This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial Responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-Check: 20.04.2026