Green hydrogen – generated carbon-neutrally from renewable electricity – offers great potential, especially for Baden-Württemberg as an industrial and technology location. In order to leverage this potential, the Ministry of the Environment, in close consultation with industry, science, associations and politics, has drawn up a roadmap for the development of a hydrogen economy.
The Hydrogen Roadmap Baden-Württemberg was approved by the state cabinet on December 15, 2020. It sets out the path for the coming years that Baden-Württemberg must follow in order to become a leading economical location for hydrogen and fuel technologies.
The implementation, monitoring and further development of the roadmap is carried out by the platform "Hydrogen and Fuel Cell - H2BW", which was established at the State Agency for New Mobility Solutions and Automotive Baden-Württemberg e-mobil BW GmbH.
Goals of the roadmap
The hydrogen roadmap for Baden-Württemberg is intended to
- contribute to a comprehensive reduction in the use of fossil fuels in the various sectors such as industry, mobility and the energy industry and thus also reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- accompany the establishment and expansion of a hydrogen economy in order to present Baden-Württemberg as a leading location for the hydrogen and fuel cell industry both nationally and internationally.
The roadmap defines concrete objectives (in terms of time and content) and measures (including financing) to push and promote hydrogen and fuel cell technology in the state. It also specifies concrete contributions from all stakeholders involved. In defining the goals, measures and contributions, all relevant dimensions of building a local hydrogen economy were considered: Production, Infrastructure, Applications.
With the funding call "Future Program Hydrogen BW" of April 1, 2021, the Ministry of Environment started the implementation of measures in the most important topics of the roadmap. In the now beginning phase of development and implementation towards market ramp-up of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, leading companies face the challenge of transferring their expertise to relevant quantities of products.
The state's funding opportunity totaling 26.4 million euros is intended to strengthen companies’ innovative power in a targeted manner and support them in maintaining their leading technological position in international competition. More than 20 project outlines were received by the deadline at the end of May 2021. Following a meeting of a jury with experts, the decision on project applications to be funded was prepared, so the projects can launch in early 2022.
Development process
An interdepartmental project group under the leadership of the Ministry of the Environment was set up to create the roadmap. The e-mobil BW GmbH, the state agency for new mobility solutions and automotive Baden-Württemberg, was also involved.
In July 2020, the Ministry of the Environment launched a stakeholder dialogue. Representatives of companies, research, science and associations were able to submit their suggestions and comments on various topics relating to the production, transport and use of hydrogen via the BW participation portal. Interested citizens were also invited to help shape the state's hydrogen roadmap.
The Ministry of the Environment reflected the contributions received with various actors and stakeholders in the state at the beginning of October 2020. The feedback received in this step was taken into account when creating the roadmap. By early December 2020, the roadmap for building a hydrogen economy in the country was completed.
Contact
Anyone interested in helping to implement the Baden-Württemberg Hydrogen Roadmap can contact the Ministry of the Environment directly by sending an email to wasserstoff@um.bwl.de. You can also use this channel to send questions and suggestions about hydrogen to the ministry.
