This page contains automatically translated content.

02/20/2023 | Pressemitteilung

North Hesse wants to become a model region for energy systems - support from the state expected

At the start of the state election year in Hesse, a broad alliance of actors from northern Hesse has formulated expectations of politicians in Wiesbaden. At the center is the proposal for a model region for sustainable and resilient energy systems.

Image: University of Kassel.
"The region offers ideal conditions for driving the energy transition forward in an exemplary manner." Here, wind turbines near Gilserberg (Schwalm-Eder district).
Group picture.Image: Andreas Fischer.
At the press conference: Prof. Dr. Ute Clement, Dr.-Ing. Reinhard Mackensen and Carsten Rahier (from left).

This could build on strong structures in northern Hesse and set an example for other regions. This would require decisive support from a future state government. "How and to what extent this is happening is being carefully observed in the region," says a position paper presented today (Feb. 20) in Kassel. The paper is signed by representatives of 14 institutions, associations and companies in northern Hesse. Among them are the University of Kassel, the Fraunhofer Institute IEE in Kassel and the German Federation of Trade Unions in Northern Hesse. The position paper is also supported by the Vereinigung der hessischen Unternehmerverbände Nordhessen (VhU), the Handwerkskammer Kassel and the IHK Kassel-Marburg.

"Northern Hesse is strong. The region offers ideal conditions for driving forward the energy turnaround in an exemplary manner. For this, we expect support from a future state government," explained the president of the University of Kassel, Prof. Dr. Ute Clement, before the press conference on (today) Monday at the Fraunhofer Institute IEE. "Making the region more sustainable together with politics, science and business is not only an opportunity for North Hesse, but also for the survivability of our social and natural environment."

Dr.-Ing. Reinhard Mackensen, acting director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE, added: "The combination of innovative spirit and research drive finds answers to questions of the energy transition, one of the most important problems of our time. With suitable framework conditions, first-class products and solutions are created for the region, for Germany and for the international arena."

"In Northern Hesse, we offer innovation, strong networks and bright minds. The region benefits from qualified employees and motivated trainees who need perspectives in the socio-ecological transformation and also demand these from a new state government," emphasized Jenny Huschke, regional manager of the DGB in North Hesse.

For Carsten Rahier, managing partner of the sera Group in Immenhausen, hydrogen is an important component of the energy transition. "In a sustainable North Hesse model region, it is indispensable as an energy carrier and store that can be generated directly from renewable energies. To achieve this, however, planning and approval procedures must be significantly simplified and accelerated, and targeted funding and investment programs must be created to build a hydrogen infrastructure," said Rahier, who is also chairman of VhU Nordhessen.

The demands on politicians range from strengthening vocational training and university education to investing in a technology park in Northern Hesse and supporting citizen participation formats for the energy turnaround.

In order to bring scientific findings into practice more quickly, the alliance is calling for the funding of so-called "real laboratories" with around 30 million euros. In such real labs, science and industry test and try out their innovations on a large scale and in real operations. Aligned with the envisaged model region for sustainable and resilient energy systems, reallabs are planned in the areas of climate protection, energy and heat supply.

The election for the Hessian state parliament will take place on October 8, 2023.

Download image: https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/files/Aktuelles/2023/02/B%C3%BCndnis028.jpg
(At the press conference: Prof. Dr. Ute Clement, Dr.-Ing. Reinhard Mackensen and Carsten Rahier (from left). Photo Andreas Fischer).
The position paper is available at https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/files/Aktuelles/2023/01/Modellregion-Nordhessen_2023.pdf
A letter of support from VhU, IHK, HWK is available for download here: https://www.arbeitgeber-nordhessen.de/media/custom/3162_1656_1.PDF

 

Further statements:

SMA Managing Board Spokesman Jürgen Reinert: "From Northern Hesse, SMA has been supplying innovative energy solutions to the global market for more than four decades and successfully driving the energy transition. That is why it is of enormous importance to strengthen Germany and the region as an industrial location with investments and innovations and to serve the international growth markets from here. Our new gigawatt factory, which we are building in Niestetal by 2024, will make another important contribution to this."

NVV Managing Director Steffen Müller: "NVV stands ready as an experienced and reliable partner for initiatives to strengthen the North Hessian region. With the expansion of local public transport in the region, we are advancing the transport turnaround and making an important contribution to climate protection. In local public transport, too, the future belongs to alternative forms of propulsion. A prerequisite for this successful transformation process is the bundling of know-how and resources from science, business and politics from and in the region, for example to create the necessary refueling and charging infrastructure for electric or hydrogen vehicles in Northern Hesse."

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Lehmann, Plant Manager of the Mercedes-Benz axle plant in Kassel: "At Group level, we have the ambition to only offer new vehicles in our global core markets that are CO2-neutral in driving operation by 2039. At the Mercedes-Benz plant in Kassel, as a competence center for electric drive systems and conventional axles, we are very well positioned for the future in a sustainable economy and society. With the support of numerous partners from industry and politics, we are continuously working to successfully bring battery- and hydrogen-based technologies to the road."