The appearance of Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) in Weilheim an der Teck at the foot of the Swabian Jura is unusual.

A few days before a referendum on a planned commercial area in which Cellcentric, a joint venture between Daimler Truck and Volvo, wants to build a factory for fuel cells, he campaigned aggressively for the project.

Normally he doesn't get involved, says the Greens politician on Tuesday evening when he and Mayor Johannes Züfle (independent) look at the areas that are to be built on.

Kretschmann and the state government have been involved in the project for months.

For him, it is also a question of Baden-Württemberg as a business location and the upcoming conversion process in Autoland.

It's about the future of mobility and at the same time he lists where new high-tech locations are currently emerging all over Germany.

He names Tesla in Brandenburg, Intel in Saxony-Anhalt and the Northvolt battery factory in Schleswig-Holstein.

"Then we have really bad cards"

"Baden-Württemberg is not included in this list." He therefore emphasizes that fuel cells are an absolutely key technology for the climate-neutral world of tomorrow.

The current change has the power to completely rewrite the industrial map - in Germany and all over the world.

According to Kretschmann, jobs would be lost and new jobs would be created.

It should not be said, however, that these new jobs will also be created in the south-west.

"Because if we don't win any new companies from outside and then we don't give our long-established companies the necessary space, then we have really bad cards."

The Greens politician warns that Baden-Württemberg could lose touch with other countries.

"But nobody in the Ruhr area could have imagined it when it was still in full bloom." The referendum is scheduled for April 24th.

The population should vote on whether the approximately 30 hectare "Rosenloh" commercial area should be built and made available for local companies and companies with climate-related technologies.

Alternative drives for heavy trucks

According to Cellcentric, it wants to develop alternative drives for heavy trucks.

Fuel cell technology is climate-neutral, provided the hydrogen used is generated using renewable energies.

The possible factory is to be built on a 15-hectare site in the industrial park.

If the citizens decide to designate the area, construction work could start next year and production by early 2026 at the latest, according to a Cellcentric spokeswoman.

Information on the amount of the possible investment was not given.

A total of around 800 people will work in the factory, and up to 450 new jobs will be created.

Daimler Trucks relies on battery drives for trucks and at the same time on fuel cells for long-distance journeys.

In terms of range, refueling times,

The VW commercial vehicle holding Traton, on the other hand, only relies on the battery strategy.

As with cars, the company, with brands such as MAN and Scania, believes they are the only solution for articulated lorries.

Trucks must reduce their CO2 emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2019.

That's what the EU wants.

Otherwise, the manufacturers face immense penalties.

Plenty of funding available

Mayor Züfle speaks of an important future decision for Weilheim.

Opponents of the project, on the other hand, criticized the project's large land use.

The state chair of the BUND, Sylvia Pilarsky-Grosch, emphasizes: "The question put to the vote cements the space consumption desired by Cellcentric and others, instead of thinking about how much space you really need and promoting space-saving possibilities." would have to go into multi-storey construction these days.

"It may be difficult at times, but it is necessary to protect the natural basis of life, soil."

If the citizens decide in favor of the commercial area, Cellcentric can count on plenty of funding.

Also from the European Union.

A total of well over 500 million euros could flow from various pots.