Minister Pinkwart: “This is about new jobs for a climate-friendly future”

NRW Minister of Economic Affairs visits the H2 Application Center Herten

NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Andreas Pinkwart made March 31, 2021, his personal “Hydrogen Day,” during which he visited several project sites in NRW. One of the visits was to the H2 Application Center Herten, another to the ZBT Duisburg, and thus to two members of h2-netzwerk-ruhr e.V. simultaneously.

Volker Lindner, Chairman of h2-netzwerk-ruhr, who had been contacted by the Ministry during the preparations for Hydrogen Day, welcomed Minister Prof. Pinkwart together with Mayor Matthias Müller and District Administrator Bodo Klimpel.

Andreas Pinkwart, NRW Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy, also visited Herten during his Hydrogen Day. Copyright notice: MWIDE NRW/M. Hermenau
Andreas Pinkwart, NRW Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy, also visited Herten during his Hydrogen Day. Photo: MWIDE NRW/M. Hermenau

The focus of the talks in Herten was the project for a demonstration and operational research center for electrolysis initiated by h2-netzwerk-ruhr. The project already appears under the term “Hydrogen Lab Ruhr” in the H2 Roadmap of the state of NRW. The core of the idea is the establishment of a hydrogen campus on the site of the decommissioned Uniper coal-fired power plant in Gelsenkirchen. In addition to testing and research facilities for various electrolyzer manufacturers, it is intended that the skilled workers required in larger numbers for hydrogen technology in the future can be trained there. Minister Pinkwart was briefed on the status of the project work and pledged his continued support for its implementation.

In addition, Minister Pinkwart was informed about the progress in the construction of a fuel cell factory by Cummins at the Ewald site. The new plant is scheduled to start production as early as October 2021.

The subsequent tour focused on the inauguration of the H2 filling station expansion in Herten. Buses and trucks can now be refueled here at a 350-bar pressure level. Thomas Stolzenburg, project manager at H2 Mobility, explained that the Herten facility is the only one to supply cooled hydrogen, making it the most powerful in Germany.

The Minister expressed his pleasure at the momentum of the hydrogen economy in the Ruhr region and noted: “When it comes to hydrogen, it’s about new jobs for a climate-friendly future!”

Cover photo: In addition to NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Pinkwart (3rd from left), the chairman of h2-netzwerk-ruhr Volker Linder (1st from left), District Administrator Bodo Klimpel (2nd from left) and the Mayor of Herten Matthias Müller (right) took part in the inauguration of the 350-bar pressure level of the hydrogen filling station at Ewald. Photo: City of Herten