The Federal Research Minister at the presentation of the Hydrogen Atlas Germany.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger has called for more speed in the energy transition in view of the gas crisis. One is more determined than ever “and we also have to be faster than ever,” said the FDP politician on Thursday in Berlin.
Gas is now flowing through Nord Stream 1 again, but Germany’s dependence on Russian gas is once again being made very clear. “And I would like to say just as clearly, it is also a historical error.”
The occasion was the presentation of the “Hydrogen Atlas”. The Internet portal, which Stark-Watzinger presented together with the energy storage expert Michael Sterner from the Technical University of Regensburg, shows down to the district level where there are already plants for the production of hydrogen, where more are planned and what potential they have for energy supply to have.
Stark-Watzinger emphasized that the aim was to get rid of fossil fuels and to free oneself from dependence on Russia. At the same time, the goal is to be climate-neutral by 2045. “And that will only be possible with the energy of the future, hydrogen.”
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
The aim was to make Germany a “hydrogen republic”, said the minister, referring to “industry-led flagship hydrogen projects” that would be funded with 700 million euros. “Our hydrogen technologies have what it takes to become an export hit”.
More Handelsblatt articles on hydrogen:
Sterner said that hydrogen is needed in very large quantities for security of supply, for climate neutrality and price stability. He named the fertilizer and plastics industry, process heat, metal processing or the transport and electricity sector. “We’re not talking about the champagne of the energy transition here (…), but that, along with renewable electricity, is the main fuel that is bringing Germany towards climate neutrality.”
More: Reconstructing a state failure: How Germany ran into Putin’s energy trap