Lusatia Conference

The first Lusatia Conference ‘Together for model region Lusatia — setting the course for a successful trans­for­mation’ took place in Schwarze Pumpe near Spremberg on 9 September 2019. The conference was organised by the Minister President of the State of Brandenburg, the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM) and the WindNODE project.

The aim of this first Lusatia Conference was to initiate a dialogue to make the upcoming trans­for­mation in Lusatia a success. The conference allowed for an exchange of promising ideas and the devel­opment of concrete approaches for Lusatia and encouraged networking among participants. 

Nearly 200 high-ranking partic­i­pants from scien­tific, political and business backgrounds discussed the region’s potential. The highlight of the event was the presen­tation of the ‘Lusatia Memorandum for Sustainability, Innovation and Jobs’ to the Ministers Dr Jörg Steinbach and Dr Martina Münch as repre­sen­ta­tives of the Brandenburg state government. Among the signa­tories of the memorandum were 10 supra-regional companies such as BASF, 50 Hertz, Lumenion and KSC Kraftwerksservice Cottbus.

The event sent out an optimistic signal about new begin­nings and estab­lished a platform for discussion which will be continued in an annual Lusatia Conference. The next conference will focus on a just transition for Lusatia. 

Hydrogen Region Lusatia

IKEM is one of the main initiators of the ‘Hydrogen Region Lusatia’. The platform was launched in the summer of 2019 and allows an exchange between the hydrogen producers, logistic companies, and users. Its aim is to connect all the relevant regional players and  establish Lusatia as a green hydrogen region.

In late 2019, the platform brought together all important repre­sen­ta­tives from the regional hydrogen sector in a workshop. The workshop gave the impulse to jointly draft a vision for a regional hydrogen economy in Lusatia and to initiate concrete activ­ities. One of the key messages was that the regulatory framework and funding programmes need to change: To establish a market for green hydrogen, they must be designed in line with the energy transition and avoid discrim­i­nation of green hydrogen against conven­tional energy sources.

In May 2020, the platform organised a virtual meeting with more than 100 partic­i­pants from the federal government, the federal states, and many companies from Lusatia. The topic was the National Hydrogen Strategy, which the Federal Government intends to adopt soon. At the meeting, repre­sen­ta­tives of the states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt also reached a consensus for a joint framework paper with common goals for hydrogen.