The building process

Construction site beside solar panels with earthworks, construction vehicles, a surveying tripod and containers.
July 2025

Here we go! The foundation works for the HIP/AppLHy! infrastructure have begun.

Construction site with gravel area, road roller, excavator, solar panels and barrier tape in the foreground.
4 August 2025

The Hydrogen Integration Platform (HIP) is a new research infrastructure for integrating hydrogen technologies into practical power grid environments.

Construction site with gravel area, yellow van, excavator, barrier tape and solar panels in the background.
1 September 2025

Construction work at the Hydrogen Integration Platform continues. Staffing also starts this month. Today we welcome two new team members to the institute, who will take on the initial operator duties. We are very pleased to have the support of Marko Hartstern and Tobias Wagenbach and look forward to their first practical assignments.

Construction site with gravel area, excavations, concrete foundation, mobile excavator and solar panels.
8 September 2025

The HIP construction measures continue: the first part of the foundations for H2 Rail has now been completed. The next step is erecting the steel girder structure for the hydrogen pipelines. Meanwhile, the completed liquefier is in Christchurch, New Zealand. After the final factory tests at the end of September, it will embark on a two-month sea voyage to us in Germany. We therefore expect delivery by year’s end and commissioning in Q1 2026.

Construction site with concrete foundations, machinery and workers in front of solar panels, with a small FABRUM inset photo.
Oktober 2025

While construction work continues in Karlsruhe, the technical approval of the new hydrogen liquefier for the AppLHy! project has been successfully completed in New Zealand. The plant, built by the company Fabrum, is now being shipped from Christchurch and will arrive here in a few weeks. Once installed and operational (Q1 2026), it will produce up to 75 kg of liquid hydrogen per day. This will supply various projects at ITEP, particularly the TransHyDE project AppLHy!, as well as potentially other KIT institutes and partner companies. Special thanks to Michael Wolf, Tobias Wagenbach, and Marco Hartstern, who accompanied this important step on site.

Construction site with solar panels in the background, gravel surface and two workers in yellow high-visibility clothing.
October 2025

The liquefier continues on its journey and will arrive in Germany at the beginning of December, and a few days later at our institute. Meanwhile, everything is being prepared at our construction site: the foundation work is almost complete; only the sealing remains to be done to get everything ready for the new equipment.

Construction site with exposed concrete foundations, steel reinforcements, machinery and workers on gravel ground.
October 2025

The metal rods protruding upwards in the image mark the connection points for gas lines, which will soon be delivered and connected.

Construction site with excavators and workers preparing foundations in front of rows of solar panels.
3 November 2025

The pouring of the foundations is complete, and the surface has been compacted. The concrete foundations ensure an earthquake‑safe installation of 20 ft containers; the steel structure provides the base for a hydrogen pipeline network that connects the HIP systems with the rest of the Energy Lab facility complex. The next step will be to install the paving and grass‑grid surface. Afterwards, fuel cell systems to supply a railway vehicle in the H2Rail project will be installed at this location.

Blue office container being lifted by crane onto another container, with several people supervising the assembly.
18 November 2025

The control room for our new test field is being delivered. From here, in the future, power hardware‑in‑the‑loop tests in the outdoor area can be controlled and monitored.

Truck crane lifting a white technical container onto the construction site, with workers supervising the operation.
3 December 2025

Hydrogen at high pressure is required to supply the fuel cell systems for H2Rail, corresponding to a tank on the vehicle. The hydrogen is sourced from the Energy Lab facility complex and compressed and stored on site. Here the compressor, weighing approximately 6 tonnes, is being installed.

White technical container being placed by crane, with solar panels and container buildings in the background.
20 January 2026

A few days ago, the core component of our new facility at KIT was installed, which will liquefy more than 50 kg of hydrogen per day. As the largest non‑commercial liquefier in Germany, it supports the Hydrogen Integration Platform (HIP) and enables tests such as combining liquid hydrogen with superconducting technologies. The plant, manufactured by Fabrum, will supply liquid hydrogen for research at Campus North and for external projects. It arrived in Karlsruhe by ship from New Zealand.

Completed hydrogen facility with FABRUM container, open technical station and visible liquefaction system.
April 2026

The new liquefier is fully connected and operational; the final technical acceptance by TÜV is currently being carried out.

List of publications


2025
Experimental studies on indirect cooling for a hybrid power transfer line (LH and HTS)
Wehr, M.; Wolf, M. J.; Arndt, T.
2025. Cryogenics, 152, 104206. doi:10.1016/j.cryogenics.2025.104206
Superconducting high-power cables and lines – Development status and technology roadmap
Noe, M.; Puig, T.; Obradors, X.; Laan, D. C. van der; Dönges, S. A.; Weiss, J. D.; Radcliff, K.; Cheetham, P.; Pamidi, S.; Nguyen, D. N.; Nguyen, L. N.; Bach, R.; Mansheim, P.; Prinz, R.; Willen, D.; Alekseev, A.; McCullough, K.; Hodge, E.; Ishmael, S.; Luke, M.; Nilsson, E.; Rivenc, J.; Rouquette, J.-F.; Ybanez, L.; Tassisto, M.; Berg, F.; Boukayoua, S.; Delarche, A.; Dunoyer, F.; Chaper, C.; Kharche, S.; Baroille, J. M.; Räch, C.; Reiser, W.; Huwer, S.; Hanebeck, C.; Abrell, P.; Chikumoto, N.; Saugrain, J.-M.; Allais, A.; Ryu, C. H.; Lee, J. Y.; Cho, J. W.; Zong, X.; Wang, B.; Allweins, K.; Herzog, F.; Dioguardi, F.; Xiao, L.; Qiu, Q.; Arndt, T.; Palacios, S.; Wehr, M.; Wolf, M. J.; Bruzek, C.-E.; Marian, A.
2025. Superconductor Science and Technology. doi:10.1088/1361-6668/ae15c2
Design of a 75 km GW-class Hybrid Pipeline for the Synergetic Transmission of Liquid Hydrogen and Electrical Energy by High-Temperature Superconductivity
Palacios, S.; Wolf, M. J.; Noe, M.; Wehr, M.; Arndt, T.
2025. Superconductor Science and Technology, 38 (12), Art.-Nr. 125025. doi:10.1088/1361-6668/ae2cf7
Transport und Nutzung von flüssigem Wasserstoff: Leitprojekt TransHyDE – Projekt AppLHy! 1)
Fuhry, F.; Neumann, H.; Weiss, K.-P.; Wolf, M. J.
2025. Chemie Ingenieur Technik. doi:10.1002/cite.202400075
2024
Integration of Electrolysis Systems into isolated microgrid systems at extreme cold climates
Nemsow, N.; Prabakar, K.; McGilton, B.; Meadows, R.; Carne, G. De
2024. 2024 9th IEEE Workshop on the Electronic Grid (eGRID), Santa Fe, 19th-21st November 2024, 1–5, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/eGRID62045.2024.10842911
Techno-economic Assessment of a Hybrid Pipeline: Synergetic Energy Transmission by LH2 and HTS
Palacios, S.
2024, September 5. Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC 2024), Salt Lake City, UT, USA, September 1–6, 2024
Experimental Studies on an HTS DC Cable Prototype for Combined Energy Transmission with LH2
Wehr, M.; Palacios Vera, J. S.; Wolf, M. J.
2024, September 3. Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC 2024), Salt Lake City, UT, USA, September 1–6, 2024
AppLHy! und TransHyDE - Hybride Pipeline: Synergetische Energieübertragung mittels HTS und LH2
Palacios, S.; Wehr, M.
2024, April 11. ZIEHL IX (2024), Berlin, Germany, April 10–11, 2024
Building the Runway: A New Superconducting Magnet Test Facility Made for the SPARC Toroidal Field Model Coil
Golfinopoulos, T.; Michael, P. C.; Ihloff, E.; Zhukovsky, A.; Nash, D.; Fry, V.; Muncks, J. P.; Barnett, R.; Bartoszek, L.; Beck, W.; Burke, W.; Byford, W.; Chamberlain, S.; Chavarria, D.; Cote, K.; Dombrowski, E.; Doody, J.; Doos, R.; Estrada, J.; Fulton, M.; Johnson, R.; LaBombard, B.; Lane-Walsh, S.; Levine, M.; Metcalfe, K.; O’Shea, C.; Pfeiffer, A.; Pierson, S.; Ravikumar, D. K.; Rowell, M.; Santoro, F.; Schweiger, S.; Stillerman, J.; Vidal, C.; Vieira, R.; Voirin, E.; Watterson, A.; Wilcox, S.; Wolf, M. J.; Hartwig, Z.
2024. IEEE transactions on applied superconductivity, 34 (2), Article no: 0600416. doi:10.1109/TASC.2024.3352395
50 kA Capacity, Nitrogen-Cooled, Demountable Current Leads for the SPARC Toroidal Field Model Coil
Fry, V.; Zhukovsky, A.; Wolf, M. J.; Michael, P. C.; Vieira, R. F.; Beck, W. K.; Barnett, R.; Estrada, J.; Ihloff, E.; Vidal, C.; Golfinopoulos, T.; Hartwig, Z. S.
2024. IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 34 (2), 1–18. doi:10.1109/TASC.2024.3354237
The SPARC Toroidal Field Model Coil Program
Hartwig, Z. S.; Vieira, R. F.; Dunn, D.; Golfinopoulos, T.; LaBombard, B.; Lammi, C. J.; Michael, P. C.; Agabian, S.; Arsenault, D.; Barnett, R.; Barry, M.; Bartoszek, L.; Beck, W. K.; Bellofatto, D.; Brunner, D.; Burke, W.; Burrows, J.; Byford, W.; Cauley, C.; Chamberlain, S.; Chavarria, D.; Cheng, J. L.; Chicarello, J.; Diep, V.; Dombrowski, E.; Doody, J.; Doos, R.; Eberlin, B.; Estrada, J.; Fry, V.; Fulton, M.; Garberg, S.; Granetz, R.; Greenberg, A.; Greenwald, M.; Heller, S.; Hubbard, A. E.; Ihloff, E.; Irby, J. H.; Iverson, M.; Jardin, P.; Korsun, D.; Kuznetsov, S.; Lane-Walsh, S.; Landry, R.; Lations, R.; Leccacorvi, R.; Levine, M.; Mackay, G.; Metcalfe, K.; Moazeni, K.; Mota, J.; Mouratidis, T.; Mumgaard, R.; Muncks, J. P.; Murray, R. A.; Nash, D.; Nottingham, B.; O’Shea, C.; Pfeiffer, A. T.; Pierson, S. Z.; Purdy, C.; Radovinsky, A.; Ravikumar, D. K.; Reyes, V.; Riva, N.; Rosati, R.; Rowell, M.; Salazar, E. E.; Santoro, F.; Sattarov, A.; Saunders, W.; Schweiger, P.; Schweiger, S.; Shepard, M.; Shiraiwa, S.; Silveira, M.; Snowman, F. T.; Sorbom, B. N.; Stahle, P.; Stevens, K.; Stillerman, J.; Tammana, D.; Toland, T. L.; Tracey, D.; Turcotte, R.; Uppalapati, K.; Vernacchia, M.; Vidal, C.; Voirin, E.; Warner, A.; Watterson, A.; Whyte, D. G.; Wilcox, S.; Wolf, M.; Wood, B.; Zhou, L.; Zhukovsky, A.
2024. IEEE transactions on applied superconductivity, 34 (2), Art.-Nr.: 0600316. doi:10.1109/TASC.2023.3332613
Opportunities and Challenges of Using HTS REBCO in Liquid Hydrogen (LH2)
Wolf, M.; Wehr, M.; Palacios, S.; Arndt, T.
2024. 4th International Workshop on Cooling Systems for High-temperature Superconductor Applications (IWC-HTS 2024), Matsue, Japan, October 23–25, 2024
2023
AppLHy!: AP3.1: in Antriebssträngen großer Fahrzeuge
Arndt, T.; Taalibi, O.; Oliveira, R. A. H. de; Wolf, M. J.
2023, November 29. 3. TransHyDE Vollversammlung (2023), Leipzig, Germany, November 29–30, 2023
System Level Modeling of Electrolyzers for Digital Real-Time Applications
Nemsow, N.; Carne, G. De
2023. 2023 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT EUROPE), Grenoble, France, 23-26 October 2023, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/ISGTEUROPE56780.2023.10407957
Elektromagnetische und Thermohydraulische Designaspekte Hybrider Pipelines
Wolf, M.; Wehr, M.; Palacios, S.
2023, September 22. 12. Braunschweiger Energieseminare (2023), Brunswick, Germany, September 20–21, 2023
High Current HTS Cable Development for Combined Energy Transmission with LH2
Wehr, M.; Palacios Vera, J. S.; Wolf, M. J.
2023, September 20. 16th European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS 2023), Bologna, Italy, September 3–7, 2023
Combined Energy Transmission by LH₂ and HTS: Study of a Hybrid Pipeline
Palacios, S.; Wehr, M.; Wolf, M. J.; Noe, M.; Arndt, T.
2023, September 6. 16th European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS 2023), Bologna, Italy, September 3–7, 2023. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.10355.75046
AppLHy! – Transport and Application of Liquid Hydrogen
Wolf, M.
2023, March 28. European Cryogenic Days (2023), Darmstadt, Germany, March 28–29, 2024
Hydrogen liquefaction, storage, transport and application of liquid hydrogen
Alekseev, A.; Arndt, T.; Haberstroh, C.; Jordan, T.; Lindackers, D.; Palacios Vera, J. S.; Pundt, A.; Saß, P.; Schulz, C.; Weiss, K.-P.; Wolf, C.; Wolf, M. J.; Wu, C.
2023. Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT). doi:10.5445/IR/1000168281
Wasserstoff-Verflüssigung, Speicherung, Transport und Anwendung von flüssigem Wasserstoff
Wolf, M. J.; Arndt, T.; Jordan, T.; Pundt, A.; Weiss, K.-P.; Schulz, C.; Haberstroh, C.; Wu, C.; Wolf, C.; Alekseev, A.; Saß, P.; Lindackers, D.; Palacios Vera, J. S.
2023. Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT). doi:10.5445/IR/1000155199


HIP projects

Hydrogen train icon.

H₂Rail

H₂Rail realistically simulates a hybrid battery-hydrogen freight train in order to test fuel cells, batteries and energy management directly in the train.

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Hydrogen storage icon with electrical connector.

H₂-in-the-Loop 

H₂-in-the-Loop tests hydrogen-powered hardware under simulated power grid conditions in order to identify technical errors earlier and under more realistic conditions.

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Liquid hydrogen tank icon.

AppLHy

AppLHy explores how liquid hydrogen can be provided, stored and used, including in combination with superconducting components and drives.

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AEM electrolyser icon

AEMflex

AEMflex develops and validates a modular 200 kW AEM electrolyser for the flexible and efficient production of green hydrogen.

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News

Partner organizations

 

 

 

Contacts

Portrait Tabea Arndt
Prof. Tabea Arndt

ITEP-Director

 +49 721 608-23515
 tabea.arndt∂kit.edu

Portrait of Giovanni De Carne
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Giovanni De Carne

ITEP-Director

 +49 721 608-25924

 giovanni.carne∂kit.edu

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