Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, two southern German states, have formed an agreement to promote the development of a hydrogen economy in the region and boost their standing as centers for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
In the coming years, the two nations will each contribute up to EUR 500 million (USD 501.7m) to research and development (R&D) projects and the establishment of a hydrogen economy.
Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg intend to boost collaborative initiatives in the field of manufacturing technologies for electrolyser components and investigate a further expansion of their cooperation for the creation of a trans-regional hydrogen filling station network through the alliance.
Moreover, the two states intend to strengthen cooperation between the Hydrogen.Bavaria Centre (H2B) and the H2BW hydrogen platform in Baden-Württemberg.
Premiers of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, Markus Soeder and Winfried Kretschmann, introduced the alliance at a conference on Monday, where they emphasized the significance of hydrogen produced from renewable energy as the energy source of the future.
Kretschmann remarked that hydrogen must be provided to areas with the greatest demand, such as industrial hubs in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and that this is why the two states have joined forces.
The two prime ministers also urged for the establishment of a national and European hydrogen network, as well as the linking of industrial sites such as the two states to the network by 2030 at the latest. In addition, they underlined that new direct pipelines connecting the south of Germany to Italy should be incorporated into the network planning.
