1996 was the founding year of the German Hydrogen Association (DWV). After now more than 20 years of actively contributing to the development of the German and European H₂ and fuel cell industry and a change in name, the members of the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, their guests and some of the founders met in Berlin, Germany, on July 6, 2016, to celebrate the two-decade anniversary with representatives from politics and business.

The anniversary celebration took place between the 7^th H2Congress (see Seventh H2Congress in Berlin) and the meeting of the DWV membership assembly, which meant a busy week in Berlin for many of the event participants. Both the anniversary celebration and the annual assembly meeting were held in the Turbine Hall at Moabit in Berlin, Germany, which used to be owned by one of the association’s members, Vattenfall, and has become a popular event location.

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More than a work of fiction

At the start of the celebration, current DWV chair Werner Diwald first thanked all attendees and supporters for the years of good and close collaboration and said he hoped that many more would follow: “Hydrogen – it’s more than just a fictitious idea.” He added: “It can’t go fast enough for some. I think that now is the time to establish a reliable framework in collaboration with partners from politics and business. We need to decarburize our energy industry.”

The first opening remarks from the politics section came from Norbert Barthle, parliamentary state secretary at the BMVI. He quoted the head of his ministry, Alexander Dobrindt (“No prosperity without transportation”) and explained: “We at the ministry believe hydrogen presents a promising way ahead.” After a detailed account and acknowledgment of the association‘s achievements, Barthle said: “Hydrogen has the potential to become the energy carrier of the 21^st century.”

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And the innovation prize goes to…

After the speeches, it was time for deputy chair Johannes Töpler to present the winners of this year’s DWV innovation prizes. The award for best master’s thesis went to Florian Becker, who in collaboration with the DLR had tested the use of PEM fuel cell systems in aviation at HAW Hamburg. His thesis described numerical models and experiments in supplying low-oxygen cathode emissions for tank and freight space inertization in airplanes.

Martin Robinius received the innovation prize for best doctoral thesis. At the FZ Jülich, he had examined what a market design with a high share of renewable energies, including hydrogen, could look like in the transportation sector. His analysis showed that there was no money shortage for financing a hydrogen infrastructure, but rather that capital could be acquired through long-term sustainable business models.

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TH Köln‘s Fabian Rosenau, who was awarded the prize for best bachelor’s thesis, was not in attendance.

DWV board confirmed

On July 7, 2016, the same location was used to hold this year’s annual meeting of the membership assembly. The biannually held elections for the board of directors confirmed all candidates. A key resolution of the assembly was the change in membership at European level: The members who attended the meeting followed the directors’ board proposal to have the DWV exit EHA and become a part of Hydrogen Europe. (see also Quo Vadis DWV?)