Vogt: Largely safe for hydrogen projects
Despite the budget crisis at federal level, Bremen's Senator for Economic Affairs Kristina Vogt (Left Party) believes that four hydrogen projects in Bremen are largely safe. Individual projects also involve the states of Lower Saxony and Hamburg. The projects are to be financed from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), which lacks money for important projects following a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Vogt said that she was basing her classification on Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). The economics and energy ministers met in Berlin on Monday for consultations.
Vogt said that all four projects had been given a so-called premature start of action. This can mean, for example, that the companies involved have already spent money. The Dribe2 project concerns the Bremen steelworks. Other projects include Clean Hydrogen Coastline, Hyperlink and Woplin.
In mid-November, the Federal Constitutional Court declared a reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 budget to be unconstitutional. The federal government is therefore not allowed to use money intended to combat the coronavirus crisis for climate protection. This could have a major impact on the KTF, which the federal government wanted to use to pay for funding programs.
The company involved in the Dribe2 project, which is one of the four safe hydrogen projects in Bremen, is focusing on alternative energies by utilizing hydrogen at the Bremen steelworks. Despite the ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court that restricted the usage of funds from the 2021 budget for climate protection, the government's support for alternative energies, such as hydrogen projects, remains a priority for many companies.
Source: www.dpa.com
