Five Years of AMBARtec at HYPOS: The East German Hydrogen Congress Shows How Much Has Happened Since
We recently exhibited as AMBARtec at the 1st East German Hydrogen Congress 2026 in Dresden – an event that made clear just how far the hydrogen economy has come in recent years, but also how many hurdles still lie ahead: from financing to scaling up new storage technologies. A good moment to look back on an anniversary that almost slipped past us in the last few weeks: since June, AMBARtec has been a member of HYPOS e. V. for half a decade.
Over the past five years, our HYPOS membership has given us one thing above all: strong networking and professional exchange with the companies, municipalities and research institutions that are actually driving the hydrogen ramp-up in Eastern Germany. One outcome can be named concretely: the event “Decentralised H2 Production from Waste Materials and Its Storage”, held together with HYPOS in Freiberg, where we discussed the practical implementation of such projects with partners from industry and local government.
That was also a topic in Dresden – alongside another focus: heat. At the AMBARtec booth, conversations centred mainly on our solution for climate-neutral peak heat supply for neighbourhoods, based on iron-hydrogen storage technology – and on the question of how a reliable heat supply can be guaranteed even during periods of low wind and solar output (“dark doldrums”). Our answer: surplus renewable electricity is converted into hydrogen via electrolysis and safely stored in iron oxide nuggets. When needed, it is converted back into electricity and heat for the district heating network, for example in combination with heat pumps – a plannable, climate-neutral peak-load solution that complements existing infrastructure rather than replacing it.
The questions we were asked most often in Dresden – about viable commercial use cases, long-term stable regulatory conditions, and a continuous supply of hydrogen for small and medium-sized enterprises – are the same ones currently slowing the hydrogen ramp-up. It is precisely on these questions that the exchange with other companies and decision-makers within HYPOS moves us forward.
That was also a topic in Dresden – alongside another focus: heat. At the AMBARtec booth, conversations centred mainly on our solution for climate-neutral peak heat supply for neighbourhoods, based on iron-hydrogen storage technology – and on the question of how a reliable heat supply can be guaranteed even during periods of low wind and solar output (“dark doldrums”). Our answer: surplus renewable electricity is converted into hydrogen via electrolysis and safely stored in iron oxide nuggets. When needed, it is converted back into electricity and heat for the district heating network, for example in combination with heat pumps – a plannable, climate-neutral peak-load solution that complements existing infrastructure rather than replacing it.
The questions we were asked most often in Dresden – about viable commercial use cases, long-term stable regulatory conditions, and a continuous supply of hydrogen for small and medium-sized enterprises – are the same ones currently slowing the hydrogen ramp-up. It is precisely on these questions that the exchange with other companies and decision-makers within HYPOS moves us forward.