North Rhine-Westphalia presents hydrogen roadmap, eyes creation of 130,000 new jobs
Clean Energy Wire
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is accelerating the development of a future-oriented hydrogen economy, energy minister Andreas Pinkwart announced on Monday. By 2025, NRW is set to have its first large-scale hydrogen plant in operation, the first 100 kilometers of a pipeline network are to be installed and 400 fuel cell trucks will be on the road, according to the state’s new Hydrogen Roadmap.
As part of its in4Climate.NRW initiative, the state has already laid significant groundwork in recent months and launched numerous projects aimed at reaching its ambitious targets. In a press release, the NRW state government called on Germany’s federal government to “create the regulatory requirements and offer stronger incentives by rapidly abolishing the EEG surcharge” in order to rapidly advance the largescale uptake of hydrogen technology. “The goal of making industrial processes in North Rhine-Westphalia more or less climate-neutral by 2050 can only be achieved through the use of hydrogen,” Pinkwart said. If used consistently, hydrogen could save a quarter of the state’s current CO2 emissions in the future, he added. NRW also expects an economic boost and the creation of up to 130,000 new jobs through the adoption of hydrogen technology and infrastructure. Pinkwart called for the planned construction of a hydrogen transport network to be included in the country’s Energy Industry Act. To that end, the state brought about a resolution in the German Bundesrat with the necessary legal changes. “The federal government must now deliver,” Pinkwart stated. As part of its hydrogen plan, NRW is supporting 13 projects with 4 billion euros.
Recently, the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein where large amounts of renewable wind power are produced, has announced its own green hydrogen strategy. Energy transition minister Jan Philipp Albrecht said the state would invest 30 million euros over the next two years in hydrogen production measures, development of hydrogen demand, research and infrastructure development as well as concepts and feasibility studies. At the federal level, Germany has set out to become a global leader in the development of hydrogen technologies and infrastructure.
