Great Interest in Conference for Hydrogen Location Northern Germany

The Hafen Hamburg Marketing e.V. (HHM) organized the second Future Conference on Thursday, October 29, together with partners. Following the successful launch two years ago, it took place as a hybrid event this time, focusing on the topic of ‘Hydrogen Location Northern Germany’.

(Hamburg) – In his virtual greeting, the First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Dr. Peter Tschentscher, emphasized that hydrogen technology is a crucial factor for climate protection and of utmost importance for our economic location: ‘In the North, we have the technological know-how, the science, the innovative companies, the great potential of wind energy, and the political will to establish a modern hydrogen infrastructure and economy.’

After a similarly virtual content introduction, several hundred participants experienced an exciting event online, featuring face-to-face discussions broadcast live from the Wilhelmsburg engineering works with high-profile speakers. Monique Giese, partner at KPMG AG, and HHM board member Ingo Egloff moderated.

Exciting Topics and Speakers

Thematically, the event revolved around the possibilities of using hydrogen and expanding hydrogen production for the energy transition. Questions that all speakers were equally concerned with: What opportunities and value creation potentials arise from hydrogen technology for the metropolitan region of Hamburg and Northern Germany? And what prerequisites must be met to unlock these potentials?

The Future Conference was divided into three thematic complexes. In the first, Philip Hainbach, responsible for Energy Policy & Government Affairs at Enapter GmbH, Peter Lindlahr, Managing Director of hySOLUTIONS GmbH, Dr. Stefan Rehm, Development Director of Hypion GmbH, and Lars Zimmermann, Commercial Manager Hydrogen at Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, discussed the topic ‘Hydrogen between Hype and Legitimate Potential’. ‘It is not an exaggeration to place great hope in hydrogen,’ said Dr. Stefan Rehm. ‘But it must be sustainable hydrogen, and political targets must be supported by concrete, technically and economically feasible measures.’ Philip Hainbach is convinced: ‘Germany has the opportunity to establish itself as a leading provider of this future technology.’

The second topic – ‘Hydrogen in Ports, Logistics, and Industry’ – was discussed by Tim Brandt, Managing Director at Wind2Gas Energy GmbH & Co. KG, Dirk Burmeister, board member of the Development Agency Region Heide AöR, Karsten Schönewald, Managing Director of Flotte Hamburg GmbH & Co. KG, and Detlev Wösten, Chief Innovation Officer and General Manager of H&R ChemPharm GmbH. Karsten Schönewald explained that Flotte Hamburg implements a unique model in the manning of public ships and has been tasked by the Hamburg parliament to establish a ‘Green Fleet’. ‘After we have already focused heavily on reducing air pollutants, we are increasingly concentrating on avoiding CO2 emissions,’ said Schönewald. ‘The way there goes through hydrogen technology.’ Dirk Burmeister believes that there needs to be even more intensive and coordinated collaboration between Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg: ‘Both regions alone do not offer the added value for hydrogen technology that they can provide together with hydrogen production in Schleswig-Holstein and consumers in Hamburg. Furthermore, we must be absolutely active in Brussels.’

Innovative, Modern, and Dynamic – The Northern German Hydrogen Strategy

With the third topic ‘Economic Policy in Dialogue’, Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr. Bernd Buchholz, and Hamburg’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Michael Westhagemann, rounded off the economically focused discussions. Buchholz emphasized in his video message the already existing close cooperation between Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein: For almost exactly a year, the ministries of economic affairs and transport of the northern coastal states have launched the Northern German Hydrogen Strategy, ‘so that Northern Germany can actually seize the opportunity that presents itself.’ The goal is to advance technological developments in this field, said Buchholz, who mentioned many practical projects. The northern German ports would play an important role in the import of hydrogen.

Hamburg’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Michael Westhagemann, also underscored the importance of the Northern German Hydrogen Strategy and advocated for cross-border cooperation with neighboring countries. Furthermore, he demanded: ‘We need to be faster in regulation, and simply lowering the EEG levy is not enough.’

Background

The event is supported by KPMG, IFB Hamburg, UMCO GmbH, Hamburg Invest, IVH Industrial Association Hamburg, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), egeb: Economic Development, Hanseatic City of Stade, Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, the City of Brunsbüttel, and Hafen Hamburg Marketing e.V. (HHM). HHM is responsible for coordination.

www.hafen-hamburg.de

Image: ‘Hydrogen Location Northern Germany’ – About 450 digital registrations at the second Future Conference for Industry, Logistics, and Ports – © Hafen Hamburg Marketing e.V.