Zero-emission waste collection: By 2035, Abfallwirtschaft und Stadtreinigung Freiburg (ASF) aims to convert its entire vehicle fleet—including garbage trucks—to climate-neutral and alternative drive systems. To this end, green hydrogen is to be produced at the Eichelbuck landfill site. As a first step, ASF Solar, a subsidiary of ASF and Badenova, conducted a feasibility study.

Even though there is now a high-performance hydrogen filling station in the Freiburg area, there is a lack of local production facilities that produce green hydrogen. Now, green hydrogen is to be produced via electrolysis using bifacial solar modules at the former Eichelbuck landfill site to power garbage trucks. Refueling will also be possible directly on site. Bifacial modules are not installed horizontally like a solar roof. Instead, they stand upright and can capture solar energy with both their front and back sides.

Even though there is now a high-performance hydrogen filling station in the Freiburg area, there is a lack of local production facilities that produce green hydrogen. Now, green hydrogen is to be produced via electrolysis using bifacial solar modules at the former Eichelbuck landfill site to power garbage trucks. Refueling will also be possible directly on site. Bifacial modules are not installed horizontally like a solar roof. Instead, they stand upright and can capture solar energy with both their front and back sides.

For this challenging project, a feasibility study was first conducted in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg. The system is to be designed in accordance with the requirements of the ASF vehicle fleet.

ASF fleet: After extensive evaluation and testing of vehicles, ASF has come to the conclusion that, in future, only hydrogen vehicles will be able to provide an alternative drive system that meets the requirements for range and performance. ASF vehicles with fuel cell drives have been in operation since 2021, and their numbers are growing. There are currently 22 such vehicles, and by 2025, the plan is to have approximately 60 heavy-duty vehicles with alternative hydrogen drives, thereby making the entire fleet for municipal collection and commercial operations climate-neutral.

In order to provide the necessary amount of hydrogen and also to ensure supply, an electrolysis unit is to be put into operation at the Eichelbuck landfill site. ASF is using the 60 planned hydrogen-powered vehicles as the basis for dimensioning the plant. If there is an increased demand for green and inexpensive hydrogen in the region, these quantities can be increased through further investments. Even with 60 vehicles, larger quantities of green hydrogen produced locally and inexpensively could be made available to third parties each year.