North German coastal region plays key role in hydrogen economy

Production, storage and import of green hydrogen concentrated in the north

Cuxhaven, November 15, 2023

Over 200 participants gathered today in Cuxhaven's "HAPAG-Hallen" for the first "North German Hydrogen Conference" to discuss the importance of the coastal states for the ramp-up of the German hydrogen economy. In dialog with representatives of the five northern German state governments, representatives of the energy and port industries exchanged views on the strategically important position of the north for the production of green hydrogen. In addition, the focus was on regional infrastructure and storage options as well as the role of seaports in the import of green energy sources and fuels, including their distribution. The organizers were the Cuxhaven Business Development Agency, BIS Bremerhavener Gesellschaft für Investitionsförderung und Stadtentwicklung mbH, the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster (EEHH), Renewable Energy Schleswig-Holstein, WAB e.V., the Hydrogen Energy Cluster Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the WindEnergy Network and the Lower Saxony Hydrogen Network.

 "The key to a successful ramp-up of the hydrogen economy lies on the coast," say the organizers, "Here, green electricity from wind farms on land and at sea is already available today, so much so that some of it cannot be absorbed into the power grid. The region also has ideal conditions for storing hydrogen for weeks or months in underground salt caverns. Green energy sources can be landed in the seaports to supply the region's energy-intensive industry. The ports already provide an efficient supply to the hinterland. The conference will provide information about the region's special potential at different locations in the participating federal states every year.

The program was supported by renowned sponsors and offered informative presentations and panels. In the political panel "Cooperation instead of competition", high-profile representatives of state politics discussed how to accelerate the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in the north through more intensive cooperation. The thematic panels "Ports and imports", "Offshore wind and hydrogen" and "Green electricity from the region for green hydrogen" emphasized the special role of northern Germany in the energy transition. In the run-up to the conference, the conference participants had visited the newly opened Turneo GmbH site as a maritime hydrogen hub in Cuxhaven.

Event impressions

Voices from the North German Hydrogen Conference

 About the organizers:

AfW Cuxhaven

The Agency for Economic Development of the City of Cuxhaven initiates, supports and coordinates measures to promote Cuxhaven as a business location. The renewable energy sector is one of the key industries. The focus here is primarily on the offshore wind-hydrogen industry, which is a key future development in Cuxhaven. Due to its central location to the offshore wind farms, Cuxhaven has developed into one of the priority locations for the offshore industry - the so-called "German Offshore Industry Center". www.afw-cuxhaven.de

BIS

The business development agency BIS is a service provider and partner for all companies that want to operate, grow, restructure or relocate in Bremerhaven. Among other things, BIS provides support with expansion projects, funding projects and financing, advice and assistance with site searches and relocations as well as infrastructure development and implementation. The topics of offshore wind, sector coupling and green hydrogen are an integral part of Bremerhaven as a science location. www.bis-bremerhaven.de

EEHH

The Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster is an industry network of around 250 companies, universities and institutions from the renewable energy sector and the hydrogen economy in the Hamburg metropolitan region. The cluster offers stakeholders from business, science and politics a common platform. The cluster's work focuses on onshore and offshore wind, solar, renewable heat, sector coupling and green hydrogen. www.eehh.de

EE.SH

The Renewable Energy Network Agency Schleswig-Holstein EE.SH is one of six strategic innovation clusters in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The EE.SH team supports companies in Schleswig-Holstein's renewable energy sector in the implementation of innovation and transformation projects. A particular focus is on the implementation of the northern German hydrogen strategy. www.ee-sh.de

NWN

The Lower Saxony Hydrogen Network (NWN) is the central point of contact for hydrogen in Lower Saxony. The NWN supports and advises the various players from politics, business and science in order to promote the development of the hydrogen economy in Lower Saxony. www.wasserstoff-niedersachsen.de

WAB

WAB, based in Bremerhaven, is the nationwide contact for the offshore wind industry, the onshore network in the northwest and promotes the production of "green" hydrogen from wind power. Around 250 smaller and larger companies and institutes from all areas of the wind industry, the maritime industry and research belong to the association. www.wab.net

WECMV

The Hydrogen Energy Cluster Mecklenburg-Vorpommern pools the interests of business, science and politics in order to accelerate the market ramp-up in the federal state in a targeted manner. Funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Schwerin, the WECMV networks all players in the value chain from component manufacturers to end customers with the involvement of political decision-makers . www.wecmv.de

WEN

The WindEnergy Network e.V. (WEN) is the leading business network for wind energy in the north-east region with currently around 100 member companies. The network, which has existed since 2002, sees itself as a platform for the entire value chain of the industry. It focuses on onshore and offshore wind energy, maritime technologies in connection with offshore wind and the development of green hydrogen. www.wind-energy-network.de