Berlin, January 2021 – With around 4,200 participants, the first German Hydrogen General Assembly opens on 26 January 2021 in the first of two online conference days.

The joint conference of the general assembly of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) and the Germany Hydrogen Congress of Energieagentur NRW provides an overview of the state of development of technology, products and projects in the mobility sector in particular, and offers an opportunity to become familiar with the strategic positioning of federal and state governments on the topic of hydrogen. High-profile keynote speeches and expert forums on the political framework conditions and general technological developments in the area of hydrogen and fuel cells provide players from industry, research and politics a forum for networking and expert exchange.

At the opening of the joint conference, Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, and Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of NRW, emphasise the vital importance of hydrogen technology for climate protection.

Federal Transport Minister Scheuer: “Together it is our hands to set the course now for climate-neutral transport. Currently transport is still up to over 95 per cent dependent on the use of fossil energy. We therefore urgently need more mobility based on renewable energies. We can only achieve the climate targets with zero-emission vehicles. Green hydrogen complements – across all transport modes – other types of alternative drives in a meaningful and climate-friendly way.”

Economic Affairs and Energy Minister Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart: “North-Rhine Westphalia is well on the way to becoming a leading hydrogen region in Europe. Only with consistent use of hydrogen technologies can we successfully complete the energy transition. We want to remain a major industrial hub and have set ambitious targets in the recently published Hydrogen Roadmap. We are building upon our strong research and innovative companies as well as our cross-border partnerships. We have already begun the first collaborations, with more to follow.”

Traditionally, the general assembly of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP 2) provides information on ongoing projects, results of completed projects as well as EU-funded projects in Germany. The NIP 2 funding programme is coordinated by NOW GmbH. Its Managing Director (Chair) Kurt-Christoph von Knobelsdorff explains: “By adopting the National Hydrogen Strategy, the relevant departments of the federal government have once again reinforced the major importance of the technology to achieve the climate protection goals. That gave a significant boost to the mobility projects in NIP. Especially because of the reorganisation of, and increase in, funding in the area of commercial vehicles and fuels, in 2021 we are taking another significant step towards commercialisation of the technology.”

On behalf of the EnergieAgentur.NRW, for many years a co-organiser of the German Hydrogen Congress together with the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, Dr. Thomas Kattenstein, Head of Fuel Cells and Hydrogen, Electric Mobility explained: “We are pleased to be able to support the NRW Ministry for Economic Affairs in the implementation of the ambitious goals set out the NRW Hydrogen Roadmap. We will continue to do this in 2021 through project initiations, working groups and expert workshops with our network partners. In addition to applications such fuel cell buses, trucks and inland waterway vessels, the required infrastructure and hydrogen production will be taken into consideration. Furthermore we continue to accompany and advise the many municipal actors in North Rhine-Westphalia who advance hydrogen projects.”

 

The German Hydrogen General Assembly is organised by NOW GmbH, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure as well as EnergieAgentur.NRW, commissioned by the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the state of NRW. The German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (DWV) is the cooperation partner of the event.