Bavaria’s state government travels in matters of hydrogen. Prime Minister Markus Söder wants to meet Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer next Thursday. “Bavaria takes care of the energy supply. We will hold important talks with our partner countries Croatia and Austria on the island of Krk on Thursday,” said the CSU leader on Friday in Munich.
The aim of the meeting is to talk about new ways of supplying energy. “Existing pipelines for hydrogen and natural gas are to be expanded and new ones added,” said Söder. In front of the island of Krk, a new terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) with additional lines will be launched. “We want to help shape the future of energy supply in southern and central Europe on an equal footing with our partner countries.”
Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger is already on the way – and is relying on hydrogen deliveries via natural gas pipelines from North Africa and Italy. “The delivery of larger quantities of hydrogen is particularly promising via the North Africa-Italy-Bavaria route via existing natural gas pipelines, as these only have to be adjusted in certain areas,” said the Free Voters boss on Friday on the sidelines of his trip to Italy and Austria.
Aiwanger reported that the “quasi-state Austrian energy company Verbund” is planning large production plants for green hydrogen from wind power and sun in North Africa, which is then to be fed into the pipeline network in question. Now, in the next step, it is important to clarify generation and consumption, emphasized Aiwanger. To do this, he wants to call together potential buyers of hydrogen in Bavaria, such as the chemical industry or refineries, so that they can report their needs.
In addition, however, further talks with Italy, Austria, the federal government, the EU and the gas network operators are necessary in order to clarify legal and technical issues. “We now have to get everything on the chain, from the producer of hydrogen to the consumer in Bavaria. This delivery route from North Africa is almost complete and only has to be set in motion in the next few years,” said Aiwanger.
The other routes would also have to be pursued in parallel, especially those from Scotland and Norway and, in the future, from Southeast Europe. “At the same time, we are already starting production in Bavaria and are launching an electrolyser program with the aim of producing and consuming hydrogen in every district,” said Aiwanger. He would therefore like to see even more commitment from domestic car and vehicle manufacturers to the market launch of hydrogen-based models.