Here are the most important updates:

1. Simulation Tool Development: Significant advancements were made, including successful student workshops.

2. Electric Vehicle Trends: Updated insights into EV trends and charging infrastructure were discussed.

3.Sustainable Energy Initiatives: The role of local authorities and legal complexities in hydrogen infrastructure were explored.

4. Cybersecurity: Progress in ensuring cybersecurity for energy systems was highlighted.

5. Photovoltaic Scenarios: The impact of photovoltaic scenarios on the energy mix was evaluated.

Final Colloquium: the final colloquium scheduled for September 25 in Strasbourg. This event will showcase the project’s achievements, facilitate knowledge sharing, and foster discussions on future collaborations.

More information about the Final Colloquium can be find here:

https://trion-climate.net/news-details/abschlusskolloquium-des-interreg-projekts-co2inno-optimierung-der-erneuerbaren-energieerzeugung-und-speicherloesungen

Key outcomes from the meeting included:

1. Upcoming Workshops: Plans were discussed for workshops between KIT, Freiburg, and Klimapartner on April 9 (Freiburg) and April 30 (Karlsruhe) regarding public perception of hydrogen.

2. Final Report: Templates for reports have been sent out, with initial drafts due in May to allow finalization by July (25 pages per Work Package). Results may be published as a book with more detail, and publishing houses will be identified.

3. Project Brochure: A test print of the project brochure in English was produced. The brochure will be traslated to German and French as well.

4. Final Colloquium: Scheduled for September 25, 2025, in Strasbourg, the event will focus on the project’s impact on local authorities, electric mobility, and hydrogen, involving locals and external actors.

5. Tool Development: Significant progress in developing simulation tools, validating models, and planning for user experience reviews.

6. Energy and Mobility Sessions: The final colloquium will be structured into energy and mobility sessions, harmonizing results from separate projects into one presentation.

7. Cybersecurity and Policy Briefs: Progress on local cybersecurity standards and policy briefs, with a cybersecurity report due by July 2025 and a final version expected in September 2025.

8. Public Surveys: Ongoing public surveys on hydrogen and CHP perception, with a co-creation workshop scheduled in April to analyze results.

9. Research and Literature Review: Ongoing research and systematic literature review for Micro Grid Digital Twins, with a paper outline prepared.

10. Collaboration and Publications: Collaboration between Work Packages, resolving flow discrepancies, and planning joint publications.

The meeting concluded with a renewed focus and enthusiasm for the project’s final phase, looking forward to continued success and collaboration.

With the conclusion set for September 30, 2025, discussions centered around the project’s future development and post-completion implications. Partners indicated a strong interest in continuing cooperation.

Key outcomes from the meeting included:

1. Final Report: Project results are due by May 2025, with the report available in German or French, and an English working document for collective understanding.

2. Future Plans: Interest in extending the project beyond 2025, focusing on tool development and implementation in Offenburg.

3. Communication Strategy: A brochure and annual social media posts are planned to enhance project visibility.

4. Data Privacy: Addressing data privacy concerns and exploring interactive survey methods.

5. Workshops: Several critical workshops are planned for the coming months, with the next one tentatively scheduled for April.

The meeting wrapped up with a shared commitment to the project’s success and eagerness for continued collaboration throughout the final year.

Each work package (WP) presented the current results of their efforts, and there was a strong interest in jointly publishing these findings. Key points from the meeting included:

1. Discussion of a potential common publication (e.g., with Springer) involving external contacts.
2. Consideration of further collaboration between cities like Offenburg and Karlsruhe.
3. Development of simulation tools to illustrate various energy consumption scenarios (e.g., combined heat and power and environmental impact).
4. The goal of creating a tool for local authorities, informed by lessons from the Offenburg project.
5. Examination of legal and regulatory frameworks for energy consumption projects.

The event provided an overview of the state of e-mobility in the Upper Rhine region:

• Sebastien Humbert, director of the autonomous & connected vehicle programme, Pôle Véhicule du Futur, gave an overview of the current state of e-mobility on the French side, in the Grand Est Region.
• Michael Ruprecht, head of mobility systems, E-Mobil BW presented an overview of the state of e-mobility in Baden-Württemberg.
• Tim Wicke, Fraunhofer Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung ISI, and Prof. Dr. Djaffar Ould Abdeslam, professor at the Université de Haute-Alsace – UHA, shed light on the issue of batteries from a research perspective.
• Daniel Laager, head of electromobility at Primeo Energie, Dr. Susanne Baumgartner, head of electromobility at badenova, Mr. Lucas Vançon, president and founder of Karbikes, and Nils Hoesch, head of photovoltaics and mobility at naturenergie Hochrhein AG, gave very informative presentations of exemplary industrial projects for electric mobility.
• Mrs Parasote, director of TRION-climate, moderated the discussion and closed the CO2InnO colloquium with an overview on the further implementation of the CO2InnO project results.

We would like to thank all the speakers and participants at this event, especially the team from TRION-climate, as well as Interreg Upper Rhine.

One of the major upcoming highlights was the project conference taking place on July 2nd in Colmar, France (a separate news item will be uploaded regarding its outcomes). The partners will present, inter alia, a new interactive map.

Detailed modeling work for the demonstration of a combined heat and power plant running on hydrogen has shown that hydrogen needs to be used carefully from a cost perspective and it is estimated that ca. 50% of the electricity demand still needs to be drawn from the grid.

Work on electric mobility has shown that in spite of significant data gaps, there is an overall increase in the number of charging points in the trinational Upper Rhine region. One surprising issue is the currently low usage of charging stations, which demonstrates a possibility for a higher number of EVs in the fleet.

In order to better understand issues surrounding electric mobility, the project is exploring different methodologies, including with QGIS and the KINaMo indicator system developed by a previous Interreg project, SuMo.

On April 16th 2024, the CO2InnO project partners met in Freiburg to discuss the progress that they have made over the past one and a half years. This was an opportunity for the partners to take stock of the interim results of their work, as well as to chart the way forward.

Discussions, in particular, focused on:

• University of Freiburg shared organisational updates with the project partners to ensure the smooth implementation of the remainder of the project. The project carrier also discussed charging infrastructure in relation to multiple factors (e.g., population density), as well as potential statistical models for analysis.
• TRION-Climate shared updates on its recent events and the project’s upcoming e-mobility conference on July 2nd 2024.
• Hochschule Karlsruhe presented the current status of their simulation model for storage.
• Hochschule Kehl provided updates on their analysis of the legal frameworks for energy storage, charging infrastructure, etc.
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DFIU) shared information about their work on social acceptance and public participation.
• Université de Haute-Alsace informed the partners about their work on cyber-security in micro-grids, and about their cooperation with the City of Offenburg.
• Université de Strasbourg, CNRS presented their results about usage of the electrolyzer technologies for the project.

Various avenues were explored, including better communication, cost transparency, data protection, stakeholder management and lifecycle analysis.

Block 1: Presentation of the Interreg project and the H2 CHP pilot plant
Prof. Dr. Barbara Koch – Presentation of the Interreg project
Maurice Kettner – The H2-powered CHP pilot plant as the basis of the project
Simon Faivre, Wolfgang Brozio, Swati Negi, Nicolas Krier – Inventory and creation of interactive maps based on “Hydrogen” and “Electromobility”

Block 2: Use of an H2 CHP plant, the case study of the city of Offenburg, with the contributions of:
Natalie Miller, Yamit Ibarra, Naqib Salim, Nora Baumgartner, Bénédicte Laroze, Djaffar Ould Abdeslam, Bushra Canaan, Paul Robineau

Block 3: Focus on the current state of technology maturity and exemplary industrial projects.

We would like to thank all the speakers:
Dominik Ziegler – Framework conditions for the use of hydrogen with CHP: Theoretical principles and practical examples, 2G Energy AG.
David Zillhardt – Development of a fuel cell in combination with a heating system and a PV system, Ingérop Deutschland GmbH
Leonie Meyer – Future technology hydrogen – the cross-border project RHYn Interco, badenovaNETZE GmbH
Oliver Jochum – Hydrogen infrastructure in the border triangle

Over the day, current research on CHP simulation and EV-integration was presented, the demonstrator unit in Karlsruhe was shown and various perspectives for the tehcnologies uses were gathered, leaving the partners with more insight into what ist needed from their outputs.