The importance of H2CE for regional hydrogen planning in Brandenburg

Date: 20.02.2024
In an interview for the ”INTERREG B blog” of the of the German Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), Pedro Brosei, the H2CE Lead Partner Project Coordinator at the Joint Spatial Planning Department of Berlin-Brandenburg (JSPD) was asked about the benefits of the project for the region of Brandenburg, which builds together with the city of Berlin, the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan area.

In 2021, the state of Brandenburg adopted a strategy to drive forward the development of a hydrogen economy through concrete measures. Since then, many of the 14 counties and several towns and cities have been analysing the potential for hydrogen. The Joint State Planning Department Berlin-Brandenburg has the overall responsibility for regional planning. As H2CE Lead Partner, it will pass on the results of its work from H2CE to all stakeholders in Berlin/Brandenburg who are involved in the topic of hydrogen in the planning and implementation of the energy transition, together with the two regional Project Partners from Brandenburg involved in the project. Northwest Brandenburg is about to develop a regional H2 action plan with the help of the project. The town of Lübben in the south of Brandenburg will be enabled to develop an energy cell model. With H2CE, both regions have the opportunity to build up expertise among their relevant stakeholders, combine different approaches that can lead to regional “H2 readiness” and integrate all sectors linked to the energy transition in their areas into the transnational exchange offered by this INTERREG project.

The Lead Partner JSPD is convinced that the challenges for the spatial and regional planning aspects of this very dynamic cross-cutting issue of developing the infrastructure for hydrogen can only be tackled in a European exchange of experience, especially with neighbouring countries, but also because the topic is evolving very fast at European scale. Moreover, the economic players in Europe are not acting in national isolation anyway. The ramp-up of the hydrogen economy does not stop at national borders. Moreover, Berlin and Brandenburg also have a strong interest in implementing regional project results transnationally and vice versa, for example via the Scandria®Alliance and cross-border cooperation with Poland.

You can read the full interview (in German) here.