Dutch-German cooperation is essential to tap the potential of hydrogen innovation and green chemistry. The collaboration opportunities formed the heart of the 2021 Dutch-German Hydrogen Symposium that took place in Berlin on Tuesday 6 July. Attended by the Royal Couple, this event was part of the Netherlands’ state visit to Germany. Richard van de Sanden (ECCM, the Netherlands) and Matthias Wessling (RWTH Aachen, Germany) explained the collaboration plans for innovation in the field of hydrogen and green chemistry.
Matthias Wessling (links) en Richard van de Sanden (rechts) tijdens de paneldiscussie ‘Research and Innovation for a Hydrogen Future’. Source: DIHK / Jens Schicke.
The attention for this collaboration does not come out of the blue. A bilateral advisory committee for Hydrogen and Green Chemistry decided to explore the opportunities for cooperation during a workshop last October in which Dutch and German experts from the business community, knowledge institutions and governments participated. The participants involved have mapped out the topics surrounding green hydrogen and green chemistry that require public-private partnership between Germany and the Netherlands.
These findings were subsequently recorded in a Call to Action, where a zipper model illustrates how the two countries are complementary and where their innovative ecosystems can best reinforce each other. To cite two examples: Germany has strong OEMs and a very high hydrogen demand from the industry; The Netherlands has a strong manufacturing industry with essential suppliers for the OEMs, and has a large generation potential from offshore wind. In collaboration with ministries in Germany and the Netherlands, the Call to Action was taken as the starting point to set up a bilateral innovation program in the field of green hydrogen and green chemistry. The call for bilateral research proposals will open this autumn.
During the Dutch-German Hydrogen Symposium 2021 in Berlin, Matthias Wessling and Richard van de Sanden announced the plans for the bilateral innovation program on behalf of the Bilateral Commission for Hydrogen and Green Chemistry. They also offered the Call to Action to King Willem-Alexander.
Source: DIHK / Jens Schicke
Call to Action
The Call to Action is an initiative of the national advisory committee for ElectroChemical Conversion and Materials, ECCM, in collaboration with German partners. Since 2017, the ECCM advisory committee has been coordinating the R&D efforts of companies and knowledge institutions in the field of hydrogen and system integration and electrochemical conversion on behalf of the top sectors HTSM, Energy and Chemistry, based on an overarching agenda. The committee is aiming for a coherent and mission-driven portfolio of research programmes, pilot and demo projects (TRL 1 to 7). More information: www.CO2neutralin2050.nl.
