Hydrogen alliance H2Marsch wins innovation prize engine of the north

Hydrogen alliance H2Marsch wins innovation prize engine of the north

The regional alliance "Powerhouse Nord" recently awarded the H2Marsch hydrogen alliance with the "Motor of the North" innovation award. The aim of this honor is to appreciate the efforts in the energy transition and to strengthen the Ems-Elbe region as a key region for future developments.

The prize was awarded on Monday, September 30th, during a district council of Stephan Siefken in Brake. "H2Marsch" is an initiative of companies from the Wesermarsch, coordinated by local business development. Siefken emphasized the importance of this price in order to make the entrepreneurial strength and cohesion of the region visible. This is crucial to promote the energy transition. A significant achievement of hydrogen alliance was the expansion of the planned hydrogen kernel network of the Federal Government by a pipeline from Huntorf to Nordenham, which was secured by political initiatives last year.

Details on the award

The "Motor of the North" is an ideal award without prize money, according to Olaf Reichert, spokesman for Powerhouse Nord. Rather, it is a platform for appreciation of outstanding projects in the region. This year the prize has already been awarded in several districts and independent cities of the Ems-Elbe region. The awarding of further awards, including a total price for the region, is being planned.

Tim Eshold, spokesman for the hydrogen alliance and Head of Energy at the Glencore group of companies, accepted representative. In addition to Glencore, other important industrial partners such as Kronos Titan, Airbus Aerostructures and the DMK Deutsches Milchkontor are also active in the H2Marsch network. These companies are involved in various areas, including the construction of the necessary infrastructure, whereby among other things the USG blexes and the EWE Gass-speicher GmbH play a role.

Integration projects in focus

The activities of the hydrogen alliance are part of the international “Interreg North Sea” Grith (Green Renewable Industrial Transition Hotspots) project). The aim of this project is how the transformation of industrial hotspots, such as the Wesermarsch, can succeed. Grith identifies such locations as the center of the energy transition, since the potential for reducing fossil fuels is particularly high. The aim of the project includes the development of solutions to increase energy efficiency as well as the production, storage and distribution of renewable energies.

Wesermarsch business development promotion plays an important role in this context. She brings her expertise from the cooperation with the H2Marsch cluster into the Grith project, which enriches everyone involved. Tobias Busch, network manager of business development, emphasizes that the feasibility study by H2Marsch was not only financed by the partner companies, but was also funded by support as part of the Grith project. In this way, knowledge from European neighboring countries flow back to the partners of H2Marsch, which is a valuable exchange of knowledge.

How these developments will affect the region in the long term remains exciting. However, the award of the hydrogen alliance is a strong sign of the commitment of the region in the energy transition and the active role that it plays in the transformation towards more sustainable energy sources.