Hydrogen (H₂) is seen as a promising option to substitute conventional fuels in the transport sector to reduce greenhouse gases and save resources, especially when Hydrogen is produced from renewable energies. In the context of the German energy turnaround, Hydrogen production from water electrolysis fed with wind electricity is subject to fierce discussions. To demonstrate the handling of hydrogen as a fuel in daily operation, Total Deutschland GmbH has built and operated hydrogen refueling stations since 2002.

The project is funded by the Direction Scientifique of the Total Holding and aims at evaluating the current state of technology in hydrogen supply from water electrolysis as well as its use in mobility applications. The focus is laid on techno-economic and environmental aspects to assess the sustainability of hydrogen mobility in various supply chains. These supply chains include the production, storage, and refueling of Hydrogen which corresponds to "well-to-tank" value chains.

Due to the rapid technical developments in the last years and to get a realistic idea of the current state of technology, data are generated from past and current hydrogen projects of Total Deutschland. Apart from statements concerning energy consumption, costs, and various environmental effects of hydrogen mobility, conclusions about the eco efficiency can be drawn by considering climate gas reduction costs.

The assignment is primarily based on material flow and life cycle methods (environmental Life Cycle Assessment – LCA and Life Cycle Costing – LCC). Environmental and cost assessments are divided into five working packages:

1. Basic system and method-related definitions
2. Modelling
3. Data generation
4. LCA and LCC calculations and weak point analyses
5. Technology comparison and eco-efficiency assessment

An important feature of the project is the close cooperation with the customer. To collect primary data, an ITAS employee works at the Total Deutschland Headquarters (Berlin) and is directly involved in current hydrogen projects of Total Deutschland Retail Direction Hydrogen/E-Mobility. Model development and data generation are carried out in cooperation with and supported by the customer; basic processes are mostly described by data collected within the project. The work packages are updated in the course of the project according to the current status of the work.