Pitch Competition, Keynotes, Expert Tables, and Networking: The „Gründungsmesse Niederrhein“ Showcases Regional Startup Talent
A pitch competition with prize money, inspiring founder talks, expert tables, and plenty of opportunities for networking: the joint “Gründungsmesse Niederrhein” impressively highlighted the diversity of the regional startup scene. Organized by Gründungsfabrik Mönchengladbach and HNX, the entrepreneurship advisory team of Hochschule Niederrhein, the event crowned a freshly founded Mönchengladbach startup as the pitch winner: CasenapzZz, which produces suitcases that can quickly transform into children’s travel beds.
The startups showcased at the event combine innovation with sustainability. They link regenerative forestry with their own furniture production, enhance children’s resilience in schools and daycare centers, recycle worn-out sneakers, develop sustainable toilet cleaners, or produce healthy office snacks. The entrepreneurship scene in the Lower Rhine region is marked by diversity, creativity, and courageous ideas from founders of all ages.
At the event, 20 startups and founding teams presented themselves in an exhibition, which also served as a hub for networking. At expert tables on topics such as financing, taxes, and legal matters, aspiring founders gained practical knowledge. The centerpiece of the event, however, was the Pitch Battle, a competition with a total prize of €1,000 sponsored by Stadtsparkasse Mönchengladbach and Sparkasse Krefeld. Eight pre-qualified teams and individuals pitched their ideas in front of around 150 attendees and a distinguished jury.
The first prize (€500) went to CasenapzZz, founded by Fabian and Jana Herzog. Their suitcase-to-child-bed combination, launching on November 15, impressed the jury members: Stephanie Efertz (Chamber of Industry and Commerce Mittlerer Niederrhein), Prof. Dr. Georg Oecking (Senate Chair and Professor of Business Administration at Hochschule Niederrhein), Dirk Peters (Stadtsparkasse Mönchengladbach), and Nicole Janßen (Sparkasse Krefeld). Second place (€300) was awarded to the student company MerClean from Viersen: the 17- and 18-year-old founders, Merlin Dolenec and Anton Palmer, demonstrated their sustainable—and theoretically even edible—cleaning products on stage. Third place (€200) went to Modulyte, a Berlin-based startup developing an innovative façade insulation system for fast and efficient building retrofits, which is increasingly collaborating with the Lower Rhine region.
Friedhelm Lange, CEO of WFMG – Wirtschaftsförderung Mönchengladbach GmbH, praised the founders’ courage and creativity, encouraging the audience to take advantage of the many support opportunities available for startups in the Lower Rhine. “Pioneering spirit has always been at home in and around Mönchengladbach, whether Hugo Junkers, Joseph Pilates, or Hans Jonas in philosophy,” Lange noted. Prof. Dr. Gudrun Stockmanns, Vice President for Teaching and Studies at Hochschule Niederrhein, emphasized the parallel between the entrepreneurial spirit on stage and the university’s mission: “Our graduates should be bold thinkers and creative minds, shaping solutions for future challenges.”
The event was expertly guided by Andy Sacherer (Project Manager, Gründungsfabrik) and HNX team members Stefanie Kutsch (Project Manager) and Vivian Sommer (Startup Coach). Two keynote presentations enriched the program: Artur Steffen, founder of Salino, demonstrated how luck, chance, and unpredictable factors can influence startup success, while Reiner Mantsch, co-founder of textile recycling startup Eeden, highlighted the importance of a strong team and a supportive network.
All participants agreed: after the successes in 2024 (at Hochschule Niederrhein’s Krefeld campus) and 2025, the Gründungsmesse Niederrhein will return in 2026. Meanwhile, numerous free events for founders and aspiring entrepreneurs will take place in the coming weeks, including the Gründungswoche Niederrhein from November 17 to 23.
About Gründungsfabrik Mönchengladbach:
Gründungsfabrik is a structural transformation project in the Rhineland region, funded by the federal and North Rhine-Westphalia state governments, and hosted by WFMG. It includes two components: “Gründungsfabrik Mönchengladbach” and “skillzUP.” Running from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2027, the project is 90% funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, with the remaining 10% provided by NRW. The total budget is nearly €3 million. More information: https://gruendungsfabrik.mg/.
About HNX:
HNX is the entrepreneurship and startup advisory team at Hochschule Niederrhein, serving as a central contact point for all aspiring founders. Its mission is to foster a vibrant, open, and practical startup culture at the university. The program offers creative workshops, short talks, and support integrated into teaching, firmly embedding entrepreneurship education into the university’s transfer and development strategy. More information: www.hs-niederrhein.de/existenzgruendung/.
Press Contacts:
Andy Sacherer | sacherer@wfmg.de | +49 2161 82379-766
Stefanie Kutsch | stefanie.kutsch@hs-niederrhein.de | +49 2161 186-3564
The construction industry is at the heart of the climate transition: it consumes the most resources while also generating the largest amounts of waste—both in Krefeld and many other cities. This is where the new Circular Valley Construction Hub comes in, viewing buildings and infrastructure not as disposable objects but as material banks of the future.
“In Krefeld, the industrial heritage offers interesting buildings for implementing the circular approach,” explains Elmar Klein-Hessling, authorized signatory of GGK Grundstücksgesellschaft der Stadt Krefeld mbH & Co. KG, where the project is anchored. A new startup center is currently being developed in the city center in a former textile factory from the 1920s—and with it, the future site of the Circular Valley Construction Hub, which from 2027 will serve as a real-world laboratory, experience space, and communication hub. The setup has already begun: with initial pilot projects and a digital platform providing information on materials, inventories, and potential for reuse.
“We want to show that circular construction is not only possible but also economically viable,” explains Monika Zurnatzis, project manager of the Circular Valley Construction Hub Krefeld and part of KREFELD BUSINESS. “The greatest potential lies in existing buildings, where previously used resources can be redeployed. We are currently testing this in our revitalization project on Luisenstraße. The Hub will specifically support founders and users, promote sustainable business models, and strengthen interdisciplinary knowledge exchange from planning and deconstruction to material reuse.”
Circular Valley, headquartered in Wuppertal, is considered an international platform for innovations in the circular economy. With today’s contract signings, several regional hubs will become part of this network—each with its own thematic focus. In Krefeld, the focus is on circular construction and renovation of existing buildings—closely linked to the transformation processes of the city and region.
“This partnership connects local practice with international innovative strength,” emphasizes Eckart Preen, head of economic affairs for the city of Krefeld and director of KREFELD BUSINESS, adding: “With the Construction Hub, we are creating a place where innovation, craftsmanship, and sustainability come together in the best sense—and thus a model that extends far beyond the city itself.”
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Your contact person:
KREFELD BUSINESS | Annegret Angerhausen-Reuter | Member of Management and Press Officer
+49 2151 82074-44 | annegret.angerhausen-reuter@krefeld-business.de
The Digital Award honors outstanding municipal digitalization projects. Felix Ebner, Deputy Chairman of the Federal Association Databund e.V., presented the award to Michael Fielenbach, Head of the Cadastre and Surveying Office of Rhein-Kreis Neuss, and Department Head Christoph Kany. Bavarian Digital Minister Dr. Fabian Mehring was also present at the award ceremony.
The “Digital Twin” project of Rhein-Kreis Neuss was nominated from a nationwide pool of 72 applications. The aim of the Digital Twin is to consolidate the geospatial data of municipal administrations in Rhein-Kreis Neuss to make the real world experienceable on-screen. Users gain access to high-resolution, three-dimensional 360-degree image data comparable to virtual reality. This enables the visualization of planning projects and simulation models in mobility, traffic, construction, climate, environment, and economic sectors. In addition, the project serves as a foundation for Smart City applications and new business models.
Since the project’s launch in 2023—funded by the NRW Ministry of Home, Municipal Affairs, Construction, and Digitalization—two complete 3D surveys of the road network have already been conducted using specialized vehicles, with a third planned for 2027. Additionally, standardized aerial imagery (orthophotos, oblique aerial images, 3D models) is being used throughout the district. The planned data hub will centrally consolidate municipal data pools and standardized state data and make them accessible. The project is led by the Cadastre and Surveying Office of Rhein-Kreis Neuss. IT Department Head Harald Vieten, Office Director Michael Fielenbach, geospatial expert Christoph Kany, and their team are driving the further development of the Digital Twin.
The award was presented during the “Kommunale” trade fair, a nationwide event organized by the Bavarian Association of Municipalities, which set a new record this year with around 8,000 visitors and more than 600 exhibitors. First place in the Digital Award 2025 for the category counties, ministries, and other authorities went to Landkreis Darmstadt-Dieburg with the AI-generated video news format “LaDaDi KOMPAKT.” Following Rhein-Kreis Neuss, Landkreis Augsburg took third place with the project “AI-supported Innovation for Youth Welfare.”
In the category of towns and municipalities with up to 20,000 inhabitants, Kloster Lehnin took first place with a digital application for seamless application processing. In the category of towns and municipalities with over 20,000 inhabitants, the city of Nuremberg ranked first with “Living Data Culture – Digitally Sovereign. Decentralized. Citizen-Oriented.” More information about the Digital Award can be found at https://www.kommunale.de/de-de/digital-events/digital-award.
A Further Step Toward Sustainable Aviation in Europe: Mönchengladbach Airport Launches Europe’s First Public Refueling Station for Swift 100R
Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) has taken another step toward greener aviation in Europe by opening the continent’s first public refueling station for the new lead-free aviation fuel Swift 100R yesterday. The innovative fuel is now available for the general aviation sector at MGL as part of an initial testing phase. The first refueling was conducted in cooperation with MG Flyers Luftfahrerschule GmbH, the flight school based at the airport.
Swift 100R is a lead-free 100-octane aviation fuel that provides the same motor octane number (MON 100) as conventional Avgas 100LL. The fuel can be used in approved aircraft without technical modifications and is compatible with existing fuel types. Currently, Swift 100R is approved on an STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) basis for all Cessna 172 S- and R-models. Approvals for many additional aircraft types and engines will follow soon.
Beyond eliminating lead, the fuel also sets new standards for sustainability. Dr. Thomas Albuzat, Managing Director of Swift Fuel GmbH, explains the forward-looking formulation: “The ‘R’ in 100R stands for Renewable. The fuel already contains a share of renewable components and has been designed so that this share can be significantly increased in the future. In this way, we are not only contributing to the phase-out of lead but also paving the way for a more sustainable future in aviation.”
“With Swift 100R, we are expanding our offering for customers with a forward-looking alternative that actively supports the transformation of aviation,” says Martin Bollinger, Managing Director of Bollinger Aviation, the European distribution partner for the fuel. “Opening Europe’s first public refueling station of this kind together with Mönchengladbach Airport sends a strong signal for innovation and progress.”
For Mönchengladbach Airport, introducing Swift 100R is part of its strategic focus on climate-friendly technologies. Andreas Ungar, Managing Director of the airport, emphasizes: “Our collaboration with Bollinger Aviation and Swift Fuel demonstrates how practically we are supporting the transformation of aviation. Projects like this strengthen MGL’s role as a hub for sustainable and innovative solutions.”
Mönchengladbach Airport has been committed for years to CO₂ reduction and the development of new propulsion technologies. In addition to research activities on electric and hydrogen-based aircraft, providing modern, resource-efficient fuels represents another consistent step toward a sustainable and climate-friendly airport operation.
Press Contact Bollinger Aviation:
Bollinger Aviation
Freiligrathstraße 10
61440 Oberursel, Germany
+49 6172 9959746
ops@bollinger-aviation.de
Press Contact MGL:
Sevde Katran
+49 (0) 2161 6898-91
sevde.katran@mgl.de
By hosting this year’s IDRF Members’ Meeting, Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) once again served as the venue for a significant industry event in the aviation sector. On May 13 and 14, 2025, the Members’ Meeting of the Association of Regional Airfields (IDRF) took place in the Hugo Junkers Hangar. For the first time, the event was held jointly with the German Helicopter Association (DHV), which convened simultaneously. The two-day event focused on exchanging views on current challenges in air transport and new perspectives in air mobility.
Numerous representatives from regional airports across Germany used the meeting to discuss operational, infrastructural, and regulatory topics. The role of airports in the context of climate protection, digitalization, and innovative mobility was also a key topic of intensive discussion.
“Regional airports are an indispensable part of Germany’s air transport system. They ensure accessibility, create jobs, and are increasingly becoming hubs of innovation for new mobility solutions. The IDRF provides an important platform to jointly further develop this role,” said Andreas Ungar, Managing Director of Mönchengladbach Airport.
With the Hugo Junkers Hangar, MGL offers an exceptional event location that is increasingly establishing itself as a popular venue for specialist conferences and networking meetings. “Being able to host the IDRF meeting together with the DHV on site underscores the growing importance of the airport as a place for exchange, progress, and future topics in aviation,” added Dr. Ulrich Schückhaus, also Managing Director of Mönchengladbach Airport.
Press contact:
Sevde Katran
Phone: +49 (0) 2161 6898-91
Email: sevde.katran@mgl.de
Extreme weather events, water shortages, and rising temperatures demand global adaptation strategies. At the nationwide first Resilience Expo, innovative solutions and business models that mitigate the effects of climate change will be showcased for the first time on Monday, June 23, 2025, at the Zeughaus Neuss. Companies and investors will have the opportunity to present forward-looking developments, open up new markets, and network.
The Resilience Expo brings together companies, science, interest groups, specialist authorities, and politics — from the Rhenish mining area, North Rhine-Westphalia, across Germany, and internationally. The goal is to jointly establish a long-term cross-border networking platform for the climate adaptation economy.
Environment Minister Oliver Krischer emphasizes the importance of the new Resilience Expo:
“With the Resilience Expo, we are sending a strong signal in North Rhine-Westphalia for climate-just transformation. The Expo unites business, science, and politics in a versatile format and clearly demonstrates the opportunities inherent in resilient technologies and sustainable business models. We are creating a platform that pools forces, presents the growing range of effective solutions, and makes North Rhine-Westphalia internationally visible as a model region for resilient transformation.”
The Resilience Expo links regional innovations from North Rhine-Westphalia with international developments. Existing initiatives are to be bundled, synergies utilized, and international exchange strengthened.
In addition to the classic exhibition, the Resilience Expo offers a variety of opportunities for networking through workshops and discussion formats. The aim is not only to present concepts and products but also to actively discuss and further develop them in the long term.
The Expo will be funded by the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia over the next three years. As an international exhibition, it strengthens the location of North Rhine-Westphalia and contributes to the economic and structural transformation of the Rhenish mining area.
To make participation as attractive as possible, the event is free of charge for companies and other interested parties from research, interest groups, administration, or politics. This is especially intended to facilitate access for small and medium-sized enterprises to present their ideas and establish contacts.
Companies interested in participating in this or future Resilience Expos can continuously register their interest at exhibit@resilience-expo.com. Further information about the Resilience Expo as well as registration and newsletter sign-up can be found at www.resilience-expo.com.
Background
The Resilience Expo is a flagship project of the state government within the framework of structural change in the Rhenish mining area. The federal government and the state are supporting the sustainable transformation of the Rhenish mining area in the course of the coal phase-out with more than 14.8 billion euros. The state complements the federal funding with its own budget funds. So far, 317 projects with a funding volume of around 2.2 billion euros have been approved.
Application Process for the Landscape Planning Competition for the 2029 State Garden Show Kleve Has Begun!
Since May 6th, the call for applications to participate in the Europe-wide competition has been publicly open. Landscape architects from all over Europe can submit their individual designs, creative ideas, and solution proposals for the park areas of the 2029 State Garden Show by August 14th.
“With the announcement of the competition, we have reached an important milestone. The focus is on planning and constructing the permanent facilities—that is, the areas of the State Garden Show that will continue to enrich Kleve even after the event ends. This marks a very exciting phase,” emphasized Mayor Wolfgang Gebing.
The competition area covers the western hillside along the watercourse flowing through the city at Kermisdahl, including the Prinz-Moritz-Park. On the eastern bank, the transition area near the settlement leading into the Galleien will be developed as a public green space. To the south, a graduated transition to the open landscape with natural riverbank areas of the Kermisdahl is planned. The goal is to connect, expand, and optimize the existing green spaces. Additionally, the water as a central element should become both tangible and visible. Besides designing the permanent park areas, the location and preparation of exhibition contributions also need to be addressed. The competition is announced as an open, one-stage, landscape planning ideas and implementation competition.
Klaus Keysers, managing director of the gGmbH, said: “The previous ideas and concepts will now be further developed and concretized within the framework of the competition. We look forward to the participation of numerous architectural firms and their diverse design ideas for our State Garden Show.”
The competition entries will be evaluated by a jury on September 11th at the Kleve Kolpinghaus. The jury includes six renowned landscape architects as professional judges. The jury is complemented by non-professional judges Wolfgang Gebing (Mayor of Kleve), Heinrich Sperling (Laga Kleve 2029 gGmbH), Andrea Schwiete (CDU faction), Petra Tekath (SPD faction), and Wiltrud Schnütgen (Alliance 90/The Greens).
Afterwards, all submissions, including the winning design, will be presented to the interested public and the press and exhibited publicly for at least 10 days. The location and opening time of the exhibition will be announced in due course.
Background: In 2029, the city of Kleve will host the twentieth North Rhine-Westphalian State Garden Show. Along the Kermisdahl, a former Rhine side arm, two areas covering around 23 hectares will be developed into public green spaces and extensive natural recreational landscapes as permanent facilities. Parallel to and following the competition, under the motto “City | Country | Water,” spaces and locations for the garden show event will be prepared and activated with the involvement of other stakeholders (university, citizens, clubs, associations).
The funding project “Digital Twin Rhein-Kreis Neuss” has now gained supraregional popularity. At the specialist conference “Forum Geodesy” in Bielefeld, organized by the German Association for Surveying (Deutscher Verein für Vermessungswesen), which promotes networking on current topics of geoinformation and land management, Rhein-Kreis Neuss presented the project and its current development status. “Our ‘Digital Twin’ has already sparked strong interest. The concept has been requested by other districts that also want to introduce such an offering,” emphasizes Harald Vieten, IT Director of Rhein-Kreis Neuss. “Our district leverages the opportunities and possibilities of digitalization and drives the implementation in a forward-looking and consistent manner. The ‘Digital Twin’ project is an excellent example of this.”
The “Digital Twin Rhein-Kreis Neuss” consolidates geodata from the municipal administrations along the Rhine, Erft, and Gillbach rivers to make the real world experienceable on a screen. Users get access to high-resolution, three-dimensional 360-degree image data, comparable to virtual reality. “This enables the visualization of planning projects and simulation models in the areas of mobility, traffic, construction, climate, environment, and economy,” explains Michael Fielenbach, Head of the Cadastre and Surveying Office of Rhein-Kreis Neuss. “Additionally, the project serves as a basis for Smart City applications.”
Around 220 participants attended the “Forum Geodesy” conference, including representatives from cities, districts, states, federal authorities, professional associations, and the District Association. The conference also highlighted the central role of geodata management in district administrations as important coordination points for the municipalities within the districts. Rhein-Kreis Neuss received great interest with its project presentation, represented by its geodata expert Christoph Kany.
Besides an animated compilation of application examples, the second current planning phase of the development of a district-wide uniform urban data platform was presented. This platform is part of the “Digital Twin” and is intended to enable cooperation and data networking between municipal data stocks as well as state and federal data. Prior to this, technical representatives from the North Rhine-Westphalian districts (cadastre and surveying offices) had coordinated content-wise in the working group on geoinformation and surveying of the District Association.
At its core, the urban data platform represents a foundational and bundling function, where all municipal specialized data in the Digital Twin can be related to and visualized with other data and made available with municipal tools, analyses, and simulations for local planning tasks. A key feature is the use of standards and interfaces that enable collaboration with other data-managing entities.
SmartCity-Summit.Niederrhein Presents Data-Driven, Digital, and Innovative Solutions for the Fourth Time
The day before, the Regional Conference Smart Cities had already taken place.
For two days, Mönchengladbach was the meeting place for smart city experts. On March 12 and 13, the focus was on the digital and connected city of tomorrow through lectures, workshops, and exhibition stands. The event kicked off on Wednesday with the Regional Conference Smart Cities hosted by the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development, and Building (BMWSB), which this year took place in Mönchengladbach. The SmartCity-Summit Niederrhein, firmly rooted in Mönchengladbach, followed on Thursday for its fourth edition, recording a new participant record with more than 600 registrations. Both events were held at the Redbox in Nordpark.
It became clear at the SmartCity-Summit’s opening that smart city developments are not an end in themselves. “It’s about identifying the needs of the people,” emphasized Mayor Felix Heinrichs, referring specifically to the CitizenLabs project. Starting this summer, this “laboratory environment” will be launched in Mönchengladbach, physically located in the central library. The goal is to involve citizens early in the development of digital administrative services to tailor the offerings as best as possible to their target audience.
After the opening, the SmartCityApp—currently in development and also being developed with citizen involvement—was presented on the main stage. In addition, there were presentations on artificial intelligence, security aspects surrounding the smart city, digital twins, and many other topics. Besides the main stage, the “Speakers Corner” provided space for presentations, while “Workshop Classes” allowed participants to engage more deeply with specific topics.
Smart City You Can Experience in the Expo Area
A highlight of the conference each year is the 5,000-square-meter exhibition area showcasing municipal smart city solutions alongside offerings and innovations from the private sector. Examples included overarching data platforms that integrate various data sources and technical solutions such as measuring urban visitor flows via public Wi-Fi—already in practice in Mönchengladbach.
At many booths, the smart city was made tangible. For instance, the Mönchengladbach Smart City Team demonstrated via a LEGO model with mini-sensors where data is collected across the city and fed into a dashboard. Next to it were much larger sensors, already installed in large numbers in Nordpark and connected to the city’s LoRaWAN network to provide traffic and environmental data. With an increasingly detailed data basis and targeted analyses, this information will be used in the future to forecast, monitor, and control traffic flows.
Also present was a team from the municipal service portal. Already, 90% of the municipal administrative services defined by the Online Access Act are digitally available in Mönchengladbach. A very impressive exhibit was the digital twin stand. Here, a virtual clone of the city is being created, whose three-dimensional nature significantly improves participation in planning processes. The twin is already accessible in Mönchengladbach’s geoportal. But Mönchengladbach is not the only place advancing smart city efforts; partner cities Krefeld, Aachen, and Dormagen also presented their progress.
Often, robots provide concrete benefits in smart city projects—and so they were also part of the SmartCity-Summit, whether virtually as chatbots or as real machines. For example, the Mönchengladbach airport, the city’s hospitals, and the Dr. Stein laboratory showcased a drone type that, as part of a pilot project, will rapidly transport medical samples from hospitals to laboratories. The municipal utility company, mags, exhibited a fully automated watering robot acquired through the Smart-in-the-Park project. Starting in spring, it will take over watering duties at the main cemetery and later also in the Bunten Garten park.
About the SmartCity-Summit.Niederrhein
The first edition of the SmartCity-Summit.Niederrhein in 2021 marked the launch of an innovative event series aimed at placing Mönchengladbach on the national smart city map. The summit is organized by the City of Mönchengladbach through its Smart City department, the Marketing Society Mönchengladbach, the economic development agency, the utility company NEW, and mags.
Rhein-Kreis Neuss Has Excellent Conditions to Become a Central Hydrogen Competence Region in Germany
This became clear during the presentation of the hydrogen roadmap at the Neuss Zeughaus. The goal is to generate additional future-oriented value creation and to establish hydrogen as the basis for secure and climate-neutral electricity and heat production. The hydrogen roadmap was prepared on behalf of Rhein-Kreis Neuss and in cooperation with the association “Wasserstoff Hub Rhein-Kreis Neuss/Rheinland.” It was developed by the consulting firms DMT Energy Engineers and Implement Consulting Group.
“Economic strength and climate protection go hand in hand here. We make a valuable contribution to the energy transition while ensuring that companies in Rhein-Kreis Neuss continue to operate successfully and implement transformation processes,” emphasized District Administrator Hans-Jürgen Petrauschke. “This further increases the attractiveness of the location and helps to secure existing and create new jobs and apprenticeships locally. Additionally, it benefits the environment. People in our district will sustainably benefit from this.”
The hydrogen roadmap lays the foundation for the strategic orientation along this path and highlights the extensive potentials that Rhein-Kreis Neuss offers. This includes the fact that it — like only a few districts in Germany — can obtain hydrogen through various means: via self-production, electrolysis from renewable energies, ammonia imports, and the hydrogen core network. Additionally, there are committed actors like the association Wasserstoff Hub Rhein-Kreis Neuss/Rheinland, founded in 2020 on the initiative of entrepreneur Jutta Zülow at Gut Gnadental in Neuss, and the strong, internationally oriented economic location Rhein-Kreis Neuss with its high innovative strength.
At the presentation of the hydrogen roadmap, Silke Krebs, State Secretary at the Ministry for Economy, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia, Stefanie Peters (Managing Partner of Neuman & Esser Group (NEA) and member of the National Hydrogen Council), and Prof. Dr. Peter Wasserscheid (spokesperson of the Helmholtz Cluster for Sustainable and Infrastructure-Compatible Hydrogen Economy) emphasized the importance of hydrogen as a key element for the energy transition and for the energy mix of the future.
Dr. Thomas Kattenstein (Head of Competence Center Hydrogen at DMT Energy Engineers GmbH and Chairman of h2-netzwerk-ruhr e.V.) presented the hydrogen roadmap. It examines the entire hydrogen value chain and identifies key projects to make hydrogen available on demand and reliably for industry and the economy. For example, up to three hydrogen filling stations could potentially be built in Rhein-Kreis Neuss in the future.
The event concluded with a panel discussion including District Director Dirk Brügge, Dr. Dieter Ostermann (Chairman of Wasserstoff Hub Rhein-Kreis Neuss/Rheinland e.V. and Managing Partner of neoxid group), Thomas Walkiewicz (Technical Managing Director of Stadtwerke Neuss), as well as Stefanie Peters and Prof. Dr. Peter Wasserscheid. There was unanimous agreement that building a holistic hydrogen value chain offers great potential. Rhein-Kreis Neuss aims to harness and utilize this potential in a future-oriented manner.