Hesse: Hydrogen as a key technology: Companies want more speed

Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - Well-known Hessian companies have demanded more speed in the development of an infrastructure for hydrogen.

Hesse: Hydrogen as a key technology: Companies want more speed

Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - Well-known Hessian companies have demanded more speed in the development of an infrastructure for hydrogen. The cross-industry initiative, which includes Heraeus, Opel, Viessmann, Infraserv Höchst and Mainova, announced on Monday that it is a key technology in the energy transition.

The companies welcomed the state government's hydrogen strategy from October 2021, but believe that a faster ramp-up is necessary. Specifically, a transformation plan for the period 2023 to 2045 should be drawn up, they demanded.

There will be an enormous demand for hydrogen as early as 2030, so that concrete proposals for hydrogen ecosystems must now be developed and binding targets set. The companies assume that Hessen will be particularly dependent on imports. Therefore, pipelines would have to be planned from the start as a sensible addition to road and rail networks.

Hydrogen can be obtained from water using large amounts of energy in the electrolysis process. If the energy comes from regenerative sources, hydrogen can serve as a storage medium for sustainable wind or solar power. In fuel cells, hydrogen is then used to generate electricity again, which can be used to drive electric motors. In addition to trucks and buses, trains, ships and airplanes are also possible areas of application. Admixed hydrogen can also be burned in heaters.