72.5 Million Euros for National Hydrogen Competence Center Chemnitz
The Budget Committee of the German Bundestag approves an increase in funding from 60 to 72.5 million euros - The Hydrogen and Mobility Innovation Center is being built on the Technology Campus South with significant participation by Chemnitz University of Technology.
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On the future site of the Hydrogen and Mobility Innovation Center in the immediate vicinity of Chemnitz Technical University, huge fabric banners proclaimed the message in September 2021: Chemnitz is #Ready4Hydrogen. Photo: HZwo e.V. / Thomas Höppner (VideoVision) -
Prof. Dr. Thomas von Unwerth, Head of the Department of Advanced Powertrains at Chemnitz University of Technology, Chairman of the Board of HZwo e.V. and initiator of the Saxon application, says: "With the selection of our location for the national Hydrogen Technology Innovation and Technology Center, Chemnitz will become a central competence location in Germany. As part of the German Center Mobility of the Future, which aims to find and network the most creative minds and promote the most innovative projects on various forms of transport, we will further develop hydrogen technology from Saxony and shape the mobility of tomorrow together with other locations." Photo: Jacob Müller
On May 19, 2022, the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag approved an increase of 12.5 million euros in federal funding for the National Hydrogen Competence Center in Chemnitz. This means that in the future a total of 72.5 million euros will be invested by the federal government in the Hydrogen and Mobility Innovation Center (HIC), which is being built with significant participation by Chemnitz University of Technology on the Technology Campus South and thus in the immediate vicinity of the university.
Commenting on the decision of the Budget Committee, Prof. Dr. Gerd Strohmeier, President of Chemnitz University of Technology, says: "Chemnitz University of Technology is very pleased about this correct and necessary decision and the accompanying correction of the course set last year. It underlines the great success of the HZwo e. V. - closely connected to Chemnitz University of Technology - with colleague Thomas von Unwerth at its head. Once again, I sincerely congratulate them on this success and thank the members of the German Bundestag for awarding the further 12.5 million euros."
In September 2021, HZwo e. V. was successful in the nationwide competition for the national innovation and technology center Hydrogen Technology for Mobility Applications, making Chemnitz one of four locations and the only location in eastern Germany with the Hydrogen and Mobility Innovation Center. In the future, the HIC in Chemnitz will bundle the competence and expertise of all participating partners for the establishment of a value-added network for hydrogen technologies and fuel cell drive systems.
Prof. Dr. Thomas von Unwerth, Head of the Professorship of Advanced Powertrains at Chemnitz University of Technology, Chairman of the Board of HZwo e. V. and initiator of the application, already said about the location decision for Chemnitz last year: "With the selection of our location for the National Innovation and Technology Center for Hydrogen Technology, Chemnitz will become a central competence location in Germany. As part of the German Center for Future Mobility, which aims to find and network the most creative minds and promote the most innovative projects on the most diverse forms of transportation, we will continue to develop hydrogen technology from Saxony and shape the mobility of tomorrow together with other locations."
The Chemnitz location already has an excellent and established research infrastructure in this field due to the intensive cooperation between the Professorship of Advanced Powertrains at Chemnitz University of Technology and the Fraunhofer Institutes IWU and ENAS. Thus, in 2019 and 2020, investments by Vitesco Technologies and the Free State of Saxony alone in hydrogen technologies at Chemnitz University of Technology and Fraunhofer IWU amounted to around eleven million euros.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Thomas von Unwerth, Professorship of Advanced Powertrains at Chemnitz University of Technology, phone +49 (0) 371 531-23550, e-mail thomas.von-unwerth@mb.tu-chemnitz.de
(Translation: Brent Benofsky)
Mario Steinebach
22.05.2022
