Kelag is investing 16 million euros in the hydrogen project in Arnoldstein in Carinthia. The H2 system is planned to go to the company next year.
From May 2026, Kelag wants to win green hydrogen from an electrolysis system with an output of two megawatts at the location of the remaining waste recycling in Arnoldstein. This is intended to operate 35 buses from PO Box GmbH in Regional Transport in Villach. Another must be used in the city center.
“With an annual production of approximately 140 tonnes of green hydrogen, on two generation of lines, the buses have a daily range of up to 500 kilometers,” says Kelag board member Danny Güthlein.
28 million euros in financing
There is also a cheer with the country. “The ‘Decarb project’ brings Carinthia 28 million euros in subsidies to use the first hydrogen bus fleet of Austria in regional traffic from 2026,” said state councilor Sebastian Schuschnig: “A research area will be a research area from a traffic region to investigate the practical practicalness of this technology in the following ten years.” Because, as with the planned 100 million euros in heavy hydrogen research center in GMünd, the waste heat for the district heating network and the oxygen generated by electrolysis must be used further.
A bathtub on water is consumed per hour
Water consumption is also an important topic. “We are talking about a minimal, reasonable water consumption. 200 liters, ie a bathtub full, are used up at one hour and for 36 buses,” explains the Kelag board. According to Güthlein, the fact that there are releases are among citizens in such new mega projects and tackling the closures of the OMV hydrogen stations.
“To make such a project work, an energy source, a user – ie customers – and a transporter between the two components are needed. All three points are given!”
Christian Wallner from Kelag describes hydrogen as a “difficult subject”. This can mainly be felt on the stock exchange. “But when the customer is there and he is with us with GmbH Postbus, nothing stands in the way.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
