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Berlin (dpa) - Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer wants to promote the use of hydrogen in cars.
Three locations are shortlisted for a new hydrogen technology innovation and technology center (ITZ) - these are Chemnitz (Saxony), Pfeffenhausen (Bavaria) and Duisburg (North Rhine-Westphalia).
A feasibility study is to be carried out for these projects in the coming months.
According to Scheuer, the location of the new center will receive funding in the three-digit million range.
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Specifically, according to the ministry, the project in Chemnitz is about building added value based on fuel cells for vehicle applications. In Pfeffenhausen, the focus is on liquid hydrogen; in Duisburg, the focus is on innovation development or the testing and inspection of fuel-cell-based drive systems for road, rail, water and air traffic. According to Scheuer, there were a total of 15 applications. For a project in Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Stade, an investigation with a focus on aviation and shipping should be funded.
Scheuer reaffirmed his position that the vehicle drives of the future will not rely solely on battery-powered electric cars - but also on hydrogen propulsion using fuel cells or so-called e-fuels.
Scheuer spoke of an openness to technology.
The Ministry of Transport could fund projects through the National Hydrogen Strategy with a total of 1.6 billion euros.
Regarding criticism of the high costs of hydrogen, Scheuer said: "Hydrogen is not the champagne of the energy transition, but table water, we are working on it."
The «economy» Veronika Grimm said it was important to develop a variety of technologies.
It is not a question of batteries or fuel cells.
What initially seems inefficient can have great advantages in the long term.
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The automotive industry has been researching fuel cells for a long time. In addition, e-fuels are used - these are synthetic fuels that are produced from water and carbon dioxide using electricity. From an ecological point of view, this electricity should primarily be obtained from renewable energies. With e-fuels, combustion engines could continue to be used for a long time - just not with fossil fuels as before, but with alternative fuels. Many small and medium-sized suppliers in Germany with thousands of jobs still depend on the combustion engine. Germany is trying to build up hydrogen production capacities in other countries, and energy partnerships have been concluded with Chile, for example.
The head of transport policy at the BUND environmental association, Jens Hilgenberg, said: “In the transport sector in particular, no costly bad investments should be made.
In terms of their energy efficiency, battery vehicles have a clear advantage over vehicles with fuel cell drives or even combustion engines that run on hydrogen-based e-fuels. "
In transport, hydrogen should only be used where more efficient technologies are not used - that would not be long-haul flights and parts of shipping that could be shifted to rail.
"An effective climate protection strategy must rely on the most efficient technology in each case, so that hydrogen is clearly eliminated in cars."
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210428-99-385334 / 2