BERLIN, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier is seeking to push hydrogen as a future technology, German media reported on Thursday.
CO2-free hydrogen would play a "central role" in the German energy transition, according to a draft proposal by the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) cited by German media.
German companies are already world leaders in hydrogen technologies, the draft noted. "In order to leverage this potential, we will now set the course for Germany to secure its global leadership position in hydrogen technologies."
According to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, Altmaier's ministry supports an "ambitious quota for renewable energies in transport" in order to create incentives for hydrogen or its derivatives as fuel alternative.
The BMWi's draft stressed that using hydrogen instead of conventional fuels would contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector, Handelsblatt reported.
On Wednesday, the Netherlands and Germany announced their intention to commission a feasibility study on the creation of a transnational value chain for green hydrogen.
"The development of the necessary technologies opens up enormous industrial policy potential and can help create new jobs," Altmaier said.
