The joint project "Hy²Cycle" is developing technologies for a cycle-orientated hydrogen economy in Saxony. The HTWD is involved in the project together with the technical universities in Dresden, Chemnitz and Freiberg.

On 7 January 2026, a strategy meeting on the further development of the Saxon Hydrogen Union took place at TU Dresden. In addition to the Minister President (MP) of the Free State of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, representatives of the Technical Universities in Dresden (TUD), Chemnitz (TUC) and Freiberg (TUBAF) as well as the HTW Dresden - University of Applied Sciences (HTWD) took part in the meeting.

The focus was on the joint project "Hy²Cycle", which was recently successfully acquired as part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and in which the three universities and the HTWD are involved. The joint project is a flagship project for application- and cycle-oriented hydrogen research, which is being realised as part of the Saxon Hydrogen Union.

Michael Kretschmer, Minister President of the Free State of Saxony: " Hydrogen is and will remain an energy source of the future and a central building block for the climate-neutral transformation. The strong cooperation in the Saxon Hydrogen Union ensures technological progress, regional value creation and competitiveness on a European and global scale. Despite the current high energy prices, scarce availability and challenging European framework conditions, we are consistently working with the federal government to ensure that the hydrogen strategies take full effect."

Resource-saving hydrogen production - contribution to the energy transition

Hy²Cycle addresses key future issues of the energy transition: Recyclable electrolyser and fuel cell components are being developed, in particular for alkaline high-pressure electrolysis. This process makes the energy-intensive production of hydrogen more efficient and thus saves energy and costs. The aim is to enable energy-efficient, resource-saving and reusable fuel cell systems along the entire value chain.

Sub-projects at the HTWD include the development and production of recyclable pressurised alkaline electrolysis cells (DAE), the digitalisation of the process chain and scalable component production and assembly. The chairs of Forming and Separation Technology (Prof. Dr Matthias Jäckel), Production Planning and Assembly (Prof. Dr Uwe Kühsel) and Product Development/CAD (Prof. Dr Wolf Georgi) of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering are involved.

Prof Dr Ingo Gestring, Rector of the HTWD: " The HTW Dresden stands for application and transfer. This is where we contribute our special expertise and further develop technologies so that regional companies can use them."

Sustainable energy - the drive and value creation of tomorrow

In addition, the representatives of the participating universities and the HTWD discussed further contributions to the further development of the Saxon Hydrogen Union and the establishment of a hydrogen-based circular economy in Saxony together with the MP.

Background: Saxon Hydrogen Union

The Saxon Hydrogen Union was founded in 2022 by the three Saxon technical universities TUD, TUD and TUBAF to pool expertise in research, teaching and transfer and to position Saxony as an internationally visible hydrogen location. Since then, numerous joint projects have been acquired that combine basic and applied research with industrial transfer. With the acquisition and realisation of "Hy²Cycle", the partners, together with the HTWD, are now taking another important step towards a cycle-oriented, sustainable hydrogen economy in Saxony, which will bring together diverse and regional partners from business and industry in addition to the scientific players.