400,000 euros for the Chemnitz hydrogen region
Successful participation in the federal government's "HyLand" competition
The city of Chemnitz has received funding of around 400,000 euros for the Chemnitz hydrogen region. This makes it one of the winners of the nationwide "HyLand" competition in the HyExperts category for local authorities in the winning regions.
The federal government's HyLand Symposium was held in Berlin last week. Dr Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport, welcomed the winners of the second round in the HyStarter (15) and HyExperts (15) categories. Alongside 14 other regions in other federal states, the Chemnitz region is now also one of the new network partners in the HyExperts category, which prevailed against a large number of applicants in the HyLand competition. These regions are supported and assisted with the corresponding funding instruments and networks in the creation of regionally integrated concepts for the introduction of hydrogen and fuel cell technology, primarily in the mobility sector.
Green hydrogen is one of the most important future projects of the energy transition, especially for mobility and the economy. The city of Chemnitz plays a key role in this together with HZwo e.V., companies in the economic region and scientists.
For the Chemnitz region, the Environmental Agency, in collaboration with HZwo e.V., eins energie in sachsen GmbH & Co. KG and the network partners Erzgebirgskreis, Vogtlandkreis, the districts of Mittelsachsen and Zwickau as well as the city of Zwickau, has drawn up a funding application that will see almost 400,000 euros flow into the region.
The Chemnitz region's hydrogen strategy can be summarised as follows:
- Hydrogen as a subject of research, innovation and regional value creation as well as part of the drive and mobility transition,
- ramping up the hydrogen economy in the form of cross-sector hydrogen islands, which are to be merged into an overall structure,
- Supporting the establishment of a National Innovation and Technology Centre at the Technology Campus South,
- Hydrogen as a CO2-free energy source and part of the heating transition, as well as
- strengthening the Chemnitz hydrogen region as a brand.
HZwo e.V. stands for the bundling and strengthening of expertise in the region. The concept, which will be commissioned in the coming days, is intended to create the conditions for inclusion in the HyPerformer round in order to be able to start and finance concrete investments in the region in the coming years.
Dr Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport: "With HyLand's regional approach, we are bringing hydrogen to the region and helping 30 other regions to develop concepts for a local hydrogen economy. I am particularly pleased that we are also announcing a second round in the HyPerfomer category and will therefore be able to support further regions in the implementation of their hydrogen concepts with investment grants in the future. In this way, we are making an important contribution to the implementation of the German hydrogen strategy and to achieving our climate protection goals."
About HyLand:
"HyLand - Hydrogen Regions in Germany" is a competition first launched by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV) in 2019, which is now in its second round. HyLand motivates stakeholders in all regions of Germany to initiate, plan and implement hydrogen-related concepts. The aim of the competition is to identify and promote the most innovative and promising regional concepts. In the first phase of the HyLand programme, 25 regions have already received funding in the three categories HyStarter, HyExperts and HyPerformer to develop a hydrogen economy. Funding is provided through the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology 2016 - 2026. HyLand is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (PtJ). In the HyExperts category, funding of up to 400,000 euros was made available to the local authorities of the winning regions. This will enable the winners to commission consulting, planning and services. The aim is to create a realisable overall concept for a regional hydrogen economy.