Expert sees Saxony as a pioneer in green hydrogen

According to the German government's National Hydrogen Council, Saxony has a central role to play in this technology in Germany. "Saxony has made a significant contribution to the development of a hydrogen economy in our country and is well on the way to positioning itself as a leading national player for green hydrogen technologies," explained Council Chairwoman Katherina Reiche after a meeting of the Saxon Innovation Advisory Council in Dresden. The special thing about Saxony is that it has the entire hydrogen value chain. With its strong industrial locations, Saxony is in an excellent position "if the hydrogen ramp-up picks up speed". The pace needs to be increased.

The Saxon Innovation Advisory Board was appointed by Minister President Kretschmer in August 2019. It consists of 18 members from politics, business, science and administration. The advisory board is intended to help Saxony leverage innovation potential and support the government in structural development in the lignite regions and in transformation processes. The advisory board has now drawn a positive interim balance. Saxony has expanded its role as a driving force for future technologies over the past five years, it said. The establishment of two major research centers and new investments in the semiconductor industry were cited as evidence of this.

Saxony as a land of inventors and discoverers

Saxony has always been a land of inventors and discoverers for him, said Wolfgang A. Herrmann, who heads the Innovation Advisory Board. "At the same time, my confidence has grown with every meeting that Saxony has the best prerequisites to become a model region for successful structural change in Germany and Europe if the right political course is set and the right framework conditions are created in the future." He pointed out how important openness to the world is in this context. Saxony needs immigration. People would move to where they could live well and breathe freely.

Kretschmer: Implement innovations and don't talk them up

"The committee shows how clever ideas can grow into concrete initiatives. Thanks to the expertise of the advisory board, we as the state government have been able to get important projects off the ground in and for Saxony," said Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU). The network has developed great strength. The advisory board and the government would continue to aim to successfully implement innovations in the future and not to talk them up. "Instead of bureaucratic hurdles for new ideas and investments, we need openness to technology and flexibility." Kretschmer would like to continue the committee in the coming legislative period. "You always have to think outside the box."

Guests at the ninth advisory board meeting included Katherina Reiche, the Vice President of the European Investment Bank, Nicola Beer, and the President of the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Christian Koitzsch. He reported on the progress of the Taiwanese chip company TSMC's relocation to the north of Dresden.