Non-profit organizations aiming to establish a hydrogen economy are sprouting up all over Germany. The first was founded in Hamburg in 1989. HyCologne in the Rhineland region followed in 2007, and H2BX in Bremerhaven in 2016. Newcomers are the Wasserstoffenergiecluster Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and H2 Süd in southern Germany.
Hydrogen has now reached the highest political level: Even before the summer break, Chancellor Angela Merkel had already spoken out in favour of an H2 strategy for Germany. It was therefore she who set the course for the energy turnaround, even before Federal Economics Minister Peter Altmeier publicly announced the presentation of a corresponding concept at the end of the year.
On January 17, in Berlin, the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, also known as DWV, and the German Association of the Gas and Water Industries, or DVGW, signed an agreement to step up their efforts to help set up a power-to-gas market. At the signing ceremony, which was attended by Thomas Bareiß, who has a leading role in the economy ministry, both organizations said they aimed to “gradually turn today’s fossil fuel economy into a climate-friendly energy system” by replacing natural with synthetic gas one step at a time.