Around 200 participants from business, science, politics and society came together in Schwarze Pumpe (Spremberg) for an exchange on Lusatia's path to becoming a European model region for successful structural change.
Ten companies, including the WindNODE partners 50Hertz, enersis, ENERTRAG, IBAR Systemtechnik, ILK Dresden, Vattenfall and Lumenion, immediately followed the words with action and presented a "Lusatian memorandum for sustainability, innovation and employment" to the state government of Brandenburg. It states:
“The endorsing companies believe in the opportunities of Lusatia. We want to strengthen its economic power as well as secure modern employment and create new jobs in future-oriented sectors.”
The memorandum lists numerous concrete projects that the signatory companies are aiming to implement in Lusatia, ranging from a hydrogen hub, a municipal energy management system (KEMS) to the manufacturing of heavy steel cores for high-temperature storage units.
Nevertheless, the companies stress that structural change cannot be taken for granted and requires people from the region, business and politics to stand together:
„Lusatia needs investments in CO2-free energy generation, high-performance traffic and communication infrastructure, an innovation-friendly regulatory framework as well as an excellent management organisation that drives the structural development forward and puts the region in the national and international limelight.“
The WindNODE consortium, supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy through the SINTEG funding program, the Prime Minister of the State of Brandenburg, and the IKEM - Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility hosted this event. WindNODE is ready to share the experiences, ideas and the network of the consortium, says WindNODE Project Director Markus Graebig. “For the past three years, the WindNODE reality lab is bringing together over 70 partners from all over Eastern Germany to jointly develop solutions for the energy transition. WindNODE provides a blueprint for the establishment of a vivid entrepreneurial community for the energy transition; moreover, it is a role model and shows how successful innovations can be created and how our region can attractively present its energy expertise.”
Further information:
Lusatian Memorandum for Sustainability, Innovation and Employment
