h2-netzwerk-ruhr Reorganizes
New Board Assumes Its Duties
At a well-attended general assembly in the Schwarzkaue of the former Schlägel & Eisen mine in Herten, h2-netzwerk-ruhr e.V. reorganized itself.
The reorganization became necessary due to the resignation of the long-standing chairman Volker Lindner, former City Building Director and First Deputy Mayor of the City of Herten, from his position. Volker Lindner led the network on a voluntary basis for almost fifteen years.
His successor is Dr. Ing. Thomas Kattenstein from EE Engineers GmbH. Kattenstein is a recognized expert as former head of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technology Network NRW (from 2012 to 2021) and is excellently connected with all relevant stakeholders in the hydrogen economy.
Dr. Frank Obenaus, Technical Director of Emschergenossenschaft / Lippeverband, was elected as his deputy, a position he has already held on an interim basis since November 2023.
In addition, Dr. Manfred Gehrke became the new secretary and Dr. Babette Nieder the new treasurer. Through an amendment to the statutes, the number of board members was increased from five to six. New board members are Janine Feldmann, First Deputy Mayor and City Building Director of the City of Herten, and Dr. Joachim Gores from the law firm Kümmerlein and Partners.
Volker Lindner was pleased that the appointment of the new board proceeded so smoothly. And one thing struck him positively: “For an association from the technical-industrial sector, it is not a matter of course that the network’s board is 50% composed of women,” he noted.
The reorganization of the network also included the establishment of an executive management. Dr. Désirée Schulte, the current network manager, will assume this function. She has excellent contacts in the Ruhr region’s industry. Together with her team, she has already introduced several innovations into the association’s work (including the Just!Social exchange platform and the offering of webinars).
The outgoing chairman was pleased that all votes were unanimous: “This also gives the new board the necessary momentum.”
In addition to Volker Lindner, Stefan Beckmann, Head of the Environment and Green Department at the City of Bottrop, also stepped down from his position as secretary. Beckmann will soon retire.
Dr. Frank Obenaus honored in his speech of thanks to Volker Lindner the latter’s outstanding commitment to the hydrogen economy in the Ruhr region. In his function as head of economic development, he had been involved with hydrogen technology since the early 2000s. During the almost fifteen years of his board work, he made the network an indispensable player in the Ruhr region’s hydrogen economy. Obenaus recalled that at the first press conference presenting the network in 2008, Lindner set the goal of making the Ruhr region “the Silicon Valley of the fuel cell and hydrogen economy,” and he expressed the hope that the new board may come closer to this goal.
In addition to the elections, the agenda included the activity report for 2022, the work program for the current year, as well as the financial report and the approval of the budget. Due to existing reserves, it poses no problem that the 2023 budget is expected to close with a deficit. However, the still steadily increasing membership numbers give the new board hope of compensating for this through increased membership fees in subsequent years.
The closing remarks were given by the new chairman Dr. Kattenstein. He praised the network’s previous work and expressed hope that, together with his board team, he could reasonably fill the large shoes left by the previous board.