Hydrogen technology and steam turbines – this is the motto in Görlitz from now on. After the planned closure of the Siemens plant on the Polish border, announced two years ago, had caused a great deal of displeasure, the major corporation gave in and signed a declaration of intent in mid-July 2019 together with the Free State of Saxony and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in order to strengthen the location in the long term and support structural change in Lausitz.
To this end, an innovation campus is to be set up on the plant site, where technology and industrial companies, start-ups and research institutes as well as a laboratory for hydrogen research will be located. The partners intend to invest a total of 30 million euros in this project.
Minister president Michael Kretschmer was very pleased about this development: “Together with Fraunhofer, the universities and companies in the region, we are developing a research platform for innovative storage and hydrogen technologies for the energy turnaround But how many of the former 800 Siemens employees will continue to work there in the future remains to be seen. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also visited the plant on this occasion, explained: “It is important for this energy region to become an innovation region, and the foundation stone for this has been laid today with the hydrogen future. The Confederation will try to accompany this.” Joe Kaeser, Chairman of the Siemens Board of Management, added: “In addition to the worldwide headquarters for industrial steam turbines, we also want to build an innovation campus here in Görlitz, where products and solutions in hydrogen technology are to be developed together with partners and start-ups
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