State Secretary kicks off summer tour on the topic of "Economic Transformation" with a visit to Hörmann KG in Ichtershausen
At the start of his 2023 summer tour on the topic of "Transformation of the Economy", Carsten Feller, State Secretary for Economic Affairs, visited Hörmann KG in Ichtershausen (Ilmkreis) today. Last year, the company partially switched the energy supply of its largest German production site from natural gas to self-generated green hydrogen. To this end, the company built a photovoltaic and an electrolysis plant for the production of hydrogen, from which process heat is then obtained in a combined heat and power plant. The Free State of Thuringia has funded the project with more than 700,000 euros from state and EU funds. The company's declared goal is to reduce climate-damaging CO2 emissions in this way and to make itself less dependent on the regular energy market.
"With his project, Hörmann is a pioneer of decarbonization in Thuringia and shows how the issue can be tackled," said Feller. "As a state, we were therefore very happy to support the investment." The approach could easily be rolled out to other companies and industries. "In the future, there will be no way around the switch to CO2-neutral energy sources and production processes throughout the economy," said the State Secretary. In view of fluctuating and rising prices for fossil energies, this is not least a question of competitiveness and energy security for companies.
However, the costs of the energy-efficient conversion are high, Feller continued. According to KfW estimates, the additional investments of German industry due to climate protection could amount to a good 460 billion euros by 2045. For Thuringian industrial companies, this results in a magnitude of around nine billion euros - this corresponds to about 380 million euros per year in the mentioned period. The State Secretary therefore called on the federal government to create effective funding incentives to cope with these costs. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular, which, like large companies, are also predominantly in international competition, must also be able to benefit from such incentives. Thuringia itself must also take into account the increasing need for support for operational investments in decarbonisation in future budgets.
On his summer tour "Transformation of the Economy" in the coming weeks, State Secretary will find out about the situation of companies on their way to CO2 neutrality, learn about innovative solutions and projects for the decarbonisation of products and processes, and talk to companies about further expansion steps, but also problems and support needs. "Many companies in Bavaria have long since accepted the challenges of the energy transformation, tapped into new energy sources and savings potentials or are already working on new technologies and products in order to exploit the opportunities and potentials of the energy transition," said the State Secretary. I would like to make these diverse activities a little more transparent with my tour."