Great interest in the “Hydrogen Practice Day”
500 visitors flock to the h2Herten User Center
The two Hydrogen Coordinators of WiN Emscher-Lippe, Dr. Babette Nieder and Dr. Klaus Rammert-Bentlage, had not anticipated such a rush: 500 visitors, including 250 interested students from secondary schools and vocational colleges in the region, engaging with representatives from local companies, made the first “Hydrogen Practice Day” a success. While the students learned about a new technology in all its facets, from self-built go-karts to line buses and large-scale industrial applications, and explored their own career prospects, representatives from companies and research institutions had the opportunity to exchange ideas. “This once again showed how in demand the hydrogen ecosystem, which has now been established at the Ewald site, is,” emphasized Herten’s First Deputy Mayor Janine Feldmann, not without pride.
www.wasserstoffstadt-herten.de
Hydrogen Roadmap: A Lived Reality
The Presidium of WiN Emscher-Lippe GmbH was also able to witness the success of the event, having moved its meeting from the Recklinghausen District House to the h2herten User Center for this occasion.
Andreas Bothe, the new District President of the Münster administrative district, explained: “Hydrogen is the fuel on the path to a climate-neutral industrial nation. The new pipeline, which will connect producers in the north with consumers on the Rhine and Ruhr, is as important as highway connections once were. Our region has the opportunity to enter the hydrogen world quickly and cost-effectively. For our energy-intensive companies, a hydrogen connection will be as important as an electricity connection.”
The Chairman of the Presidium, District Administrator Bodo Klimpel, added, “The first hydrogen-powered refuse vehicle has arrived in Recklinghausen, and Cummins’ fuel cell production is booming. The Hydrogen Roadmap for the Emscher-Lippe Region is more than just a piece of paper; it is a lived reality.”
Climate Port Gelsenkirchen
At the end of the event, Stefanie Peters, a member of the National Hydrogen Council, was also able to see this for herself. In her presentation, she emphasised “Hydrogen is not a one-man show”. As managing partner of a mechanical engineering company that is entering the production of electrolysers, she assured the audience that German SMEs are ready to apply decentralised approaches to implement economically viable solutions for hydrogen ecosystems; however, clear framework conditions and swift political decisions are needed for industrial scale-up.
The Gelsenkirchen entrepreneur and Vice President of the IHK Nord Westfalen, Lars Baumgürtel, used the opportunity to present the “Climate Port Gelsenkirchen” project, in which companies and research institutions from the entire Emscher-Lippe region are involved.
The three organizers, WiN Emscher-Lippe GmbH, h2-netzwerk-ruhr e.V., and the City of Herten, are pleased with the positive response and intend to continue working closely together.
