Water- and Environment Technology

Hof is the "Bavarian center for water"

The establishing of the Bavarian Environmental Agency in Hof brought on new chances for the business location Hof. It offers know-how and competences particularly in the fields of water, sewage, geology, and geothermal energy to businesses.

Besides the Environmental Agency with its project technology transfer water, there are many renowned service providers in the Hof region which deal with the fields of water and environmental technology on an international level. Further important partners in the area of education are the Hochschule Hof with its degree program in environmental engineering and the Umwelttechnikerschule Hof (institute for environmental technology). The Wasserwirtschaftsamt Hof (water resource agency) has particular expertise in the field of water. The bfz international in Hof also deals with water issues and supervises numerous projects in the whole world from their location in Hof.

Further Expansion

The next couple of years will be marked worldwide by the demand for clean water. This development also holds chances for companies in this sector. In Hof, scientific know-how and corporate practice meet. In Hof, existing competences have been pooled, cross-linked and refined with appropriate projects for years.

Hof currently is a recognized and leading competence center in the area of water/environment. The concentrated existing competence made Hof a sought-after partner for companies in this sector. For this purpose, Hof offers an ideal setting as top location with internationality.

Various congresses and events on this subject take place in Hof. Groups of foreign guests who want to familiarize themselves with Hofer technology and the know-how are welcomed in Hof almost monthly.

The geofora - trade fair and congress on drilling technology, water extraction and geothermal energy - caused a stir when it took place in Hof in 2007. In parallel, Hof signed a water agreement with the Brazilian city Caruaru as part of the Millennium Objectives. An active exchange of experience with individual projects takes place here. The Abfallzweckverband Hof (waste disposal association) is an important partner on the subject.

In 2012, the geofora took place in Hof for a second time. The geofora has been placed on the market with great success.

    
geofora in Hof

The skill network in Hof has been around since 2010 and is comprised of various companies of the sector as well as relevant institutions. Numerous projects were realized: http://www.wasser-hof.de/

The Umweltcluster Bayern (Environmental Cluster Bavaria) maintains a present location in Hof.

At the end of November, Bavarian Environment Minister Dr. Söder took into account those developments and officially named Hof the Bavarian competence center for water.

At the competence center Hof the subject of water/sewage is more and more linked to the subject of energy (renewable energy). Hof also has the biggest biogas plant in Upper Franconia. The region Hof has the highest density of wind turbines in Bavaria.

Smart Grid Solar City Hof

In 2012, Hof was elected model location for the project "smart grid solar". It is a research project of about 7 million euros und is described by the Bavarian Ministry for Economy, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology as follows:

The holistic concept of "solar power plant/smart grid city" is supposed to comprise all relevant components of electricity generation and transmission, energy storage and consumption, and decentralized supply as well as intelligent measurement technology. This way research results in particular in the fields of energy generation, storage and information and communications technology (smart grids) and electric mobility can be displayed directly at the demonstrator project on-site.

The pilot project "solar power plant/smart grid city" is to support the transfer of knowledge in innovation processes between research and application in companies. The industry is given the opportunity to improve and present their products based on the know-how of their research partners.

The plan is to execute the plans for "solar power plant/smart grid city" at two locations in Upper Franconia: the city of Hof is going to be the site of the research group for an initial term of five years; Arzberg in the district of Wunsiedel is going to be integrated into the overall concept.

Due to its urban structure, Hof could be examined and tested with regards to storing of generatively produced energy and stabilization of electrical power. At the same time, the integration of photovoltaic energy into the grid would be demonstrated in Arzberg. The project is coordinated by the Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE Bayern) in Erlangen involving the Frauenhofer Institutes for Integrated Circuits (IIS) and Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB).