Interview with Katherina Reiche, National Hydrogen Council president
After 17 years representing the Christian Democrats in the German Bundestag, Katherina Reiche took on a high-level job at the environment ministry in 2009. Four years later, she held the same position, albeit with the transportation ministry. Then it was time to move on. Between 2015 and 2019, she was lobbyist for and chief executive of the Association of Municipal Corporations – VKU. In January 2020, she became head of Westenergie and in summer 2020, she was elected chairwoman of the National Hydrogen Council. H2-international spoke with the Brandenburg native about her career and future goals.
Who can make the most of hydrogen and fuel cells? This question seems to have sparked a fierce competition between several German government ministries since late 2019 as they are vying with each other for control over the debate. Their tug-of-war began spreading through the political landscape when hydrogen became an issue to campaign on early this year, prior to the Hamburg state elections. Although the Christian Democrats were the ones who actively promoted the technology for a while, public opinion seems to have shifted in favor of what the Social Democrats are planning to do with it.
The idea of using hydrogen as energy storage entered the political mainstream a long time ago. The coalition agreement between the Christian and the Social Democrats in Germany includes several direct references to hydrogen and fuel cells, while a few other parties have made the technologies part of their platforms as well.
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