Starting signal for Freiburg’s hydrogen future: City of Freiburg, ASF and badenova open hydrogen filling station at Eichelbuck
- Unique in Germany: The entire municipal waste collection fleet – 22 vehicles – runs on fuel cells
- Launch of local production of green hydrogen: PV system on the former landfill and electrolyzer will soon provide clean energy
- CO₂-neutral waste collection in Freiburg from 2026
- Mayor Martin Horn: “Both the City of Freiburg and badenova and ASF aim to be climate-neutral by 2035. To achieve this, we need courage, a pioneering spirit, and very concrete projects. We can only achieve our ambitious goals if we work hand in hand. This flagship project combines many of the elements that represent our Freiburg spirit and innovation.”
With the opening of their own hydrogen filling station on the Eichelbuck hill, Freiburg Waste Management and City Cleaning (ASF), the regional energy supplier badenova, and the City of Freiburg are jointly sending a strong signal for sustainable mobility and the municipal energy transition. The filling station marks the first milestone in the construction of a self-sufficient hydrogen supply on the site of the former landfill. It is a pioneering project initiated by ASF in 2022, in line with the conversion of its municipal waste disposal fleet to alternative drive systems, which began in 2021.
ASF Solar GmbH, a joint subsidiary of ASF and badenovaWÄRMEPLUS, is responsible for the project. In addition to the new hydrogen filling station, ASF Solar will
also be building an electrolysis plant on the Eichelbuck site starting in 2026. Its energy needs will be largely covered by a purpose-built photovoltaic system. Green hydrogen will thus be produced directly on-site. This holistically thought-out concept combines the transition to climate-neutral drive systems with the development of a dedicated hydrogen infrastructure, thus laying the foundation for permanently sustainable municipal waste disposal.
The total investment for the entire project amounts to approximately €8 million. Of this, €4.25 million has been provided in funding to date: €3 million from the City of Freiburg’s Future Fund, €600,000 from the State of Baden-Württemberg, €500,000 from the Innovation and Technology Promotion Agency (itg) through the trinational project “Hydrogen Valley South Baden,” and €150,000 from the badenova Innovation Fund.
For those involved, the project, both individually and embedded in the overall energy transition strategy, has a beacon character, as many steps are being implemented in this combination for the first time, and their interaction paves the way for a hydrogen future. badenova and ASF are proving to be drivers of the hydrogen ramp-up in the region.
Together against climate change
Mayor Martin Horn is delighted with the project’s development,
Both the City of Freiburg and badenova and ASF aim to be climate-neutral by 2035. To achieve this, we need courage, a pioneering spirit, and very concrete projects.
“But we can only achieve our ambitious goals if we work hand in hand and develop supply and demand synchronously, especially in new areas like hydrogen. This flagship project combines many of the hallmarks of our Freiburg spirit and innovation. We have converted ASF’s entire waste collection fleet to fuel cells and are building a PV system and electrolyzer at a former landfill site to supply green energy. This is how the urgently needed transformation can succeed.”
Freiburg’s Environmental Mayor Christine Buchheit is convinced,
Green hydrogen will be a central component of the energy transition, as many energy needs can only be decarbonized with it,
“The fact that we have now given the green light to produce it locally here makes me optimistic.” Buchheit added that the integration with the conversion of the municipal waste disposal fleet to climate-neutral propulsion systems gives the project a holistic and particularly progressive character.
Michael Broglin, Managing Director of ASF and ASF Solar, emphasizes:
We have always pursued the goal of closing cycles and conserving resources.
“We are already very successful in doing this with many of the recyclable materials we collect, such as organic waste, waste paper, and waste glass. I am therefore all the more pleased that we will be able to apply this principle of the circular economy to our transport services in the future: garbage trucks that are no longer powered by fossil fuels, but rather by solar energy and hydrogen – that is climate neutrality in practice.”
Badenova board member Dirk Sattur adds:
This project is a pilot project for badenova: It is our first concrete example of green hydrogen production in Freiburg and a pioneer for further decentralized projects.
“We are one of the most active drivers of the regional hydrogen economy – both in this project and with our involvement in the H₂ core network. We are proud of this.”
Dieter Sommerhalter, Managing Director of itg, pointing out its international relevance, emphasizes:
The project impressively demonstrates how sustainable transformation can be implemented concretely and successfully through close cooperation between municipalities, regional companies, and the state of Baden-Württemberg,
“The goal of establishing a regional hydrogen showcase as a model for Europe is not just a guiding principle here—it is being actively and visibly implemented.”
Components of the project
A new solar park with an area of approximately 2.4 hectares and a capacity of approximately 2.6 MWp will be built on the eastern slope of the landfill in 2025. Starting in 2026, approximately 40 percent (2.5 GWh) of the electricity generated there will supply the newly constructed electrolysis plant, which will be capable of producing up to 140 metric tons of green hydrogen annually. Furthermore, the electrolysis plant will be powered by a mix of regional and purchased green electricity: approximately 30 percent (1.6 GWh) will come from regional wind power and a further 30 percent (1.9 GWh) from purchased green electricity. Until its own electrolysis plant is operational, the filling station will be supplied with hydrogen from a regional gas supplier. Depending on the price situation, the hydrogen may also be green, especially in summer.
For ASF Solar and badenova, this will be their first hydrogen production plant. It will also be the first production facility of its kind in Freiburg.
The hydrogen will primarily supply the ASF’s municipal waste disposal fleet, which has been fully converted to fuel cell vehicles since the beginning of 2025. Currently, a total of 22 vehicles are in operation, collecting organic waste, paper, yellow waste bags, residual waste, and bulky waste in a climate-friendly manner. Thanks to the economical and independent on-site production of green hydrogen, CO₂-neutral waste collection will be possible in Freiburg as early as 2026 – without impacting waste disposal fees for residents.
The new hydrogen filling station at Eichelbuck complements the existing refueling facility in Zähringen, thus ensuring important redundancy for the reliable supply of the municipal vehicle fleet. The facility is dimensioned to supply the existing waste collection fleet and also reliably cover a prospective expansion of the ASF fleet in the coming years.
Project worthy of funding
The combination of the various building blocks – the first hydrogen production facility in Freiburg, an additional H2 filling station in the city, and the entire project sustainably powered by locally generated renewable energy – made the project a showcase for the various stakeholders from an early stage. This is just one of the reasons why badenova, as a project partner of the ASF, invested in the concept as early as 2022 and funded a feasibility study by Fraunhofer ISE and badenovaWÄRMEPLUS with 150,000 euros from its innovation fund. This early support was instrumental in the planning and conceptual design, not only implementing the project with the now planned financial and time efficiency, but also in involving all relevant project partners at an early stage and winning them over to the project. The implementation of the hydrogen project is also supported by the state of Baden-Württemberg through the “Climate Protection and Value Creation through Hydrogen (KWH2)” funding program and by the City of Freiburg’s Future Fund. The hydrogen filling station is also supported by the Infrastructure Support Company (itg). Based in Freiburg im Breisgau, itg is a subsidiary of badenova and Elektrizitätswerk Mittelbaden. Its core mission is to invest specifically in innovative and interconnected infrastructure and communications technologies. A particular focus is on promoting, supporting, and implementing the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in order to actively shape sustainable energy solutions.
The next steps in the project
With the completion of the hydrogen filling station, ASF’s fuel cell-powered waste collection vehicles can now be refueled at Eichelbuck. The fleet is expected to be fully supplied with locally produced green hydrogen starting in 2026. During the first quarter of 2026, ASF Solar will commission the necessary infrastructure: the photovoltaic system, the electrolyzer, the buffer storage tank, and a hydrogen compressor, including the associated technical peripherals. The filling station’s hydrogen compressor compresses the hydrogen to over 800 bar, enabling efficient refueling of the vehicle fleet in just 15 minutes. Depending on the collection route, refueling is required once or twice a week. Commissioning of the entire facility, including refueling of the vehicles with the locally produced green hydrogen, is planned for the beginning of the second quarter of 2026.
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Starting signal for Freiburg’s hydrogen future: City of Freiburg, ASF and badenova open hydrogen filling station at Eichelbuck, source
