You can decide here whether, in addition to accepting strictly necessary cookies, you also permit us to use etracker to collect statistical information. The pseudonymised evaluations by this software help us improve our websites. You can withdraw your consent at any time and halt ongoing statistical evaluation by moving the slider in the top right corner. By moving the slider again, you can reactivate the tracking.
How does etracker work? A script on our website triggers an http request which automatically forwards your IP address and the user agent to etracker GmbH. The first action is that your IP address is automatically shortened. The software then pseudonymises the transmitted data solely in order to identify multiple uses during the session. After seven days, all the attributions to the session are deleted, and your statistical data are entirely anonymised. etracker is a German company and processes your data exclusively on our behalf on protected servers. The data are not passed on to other third parties. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is responsible for this processing of your data. You can contact our data protection officer at datenschutzbeauftragte@bmwk.bund.de. The legal basis is your consent in accordance with section 25(1) of the Act on Data Protection and the Protection of Privacy in Telecommunications and the Telemedia (TTDSG) in conjunction with Article 6(1)a of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and section 3(1) of the Act to Promote Electronic Government (EGovG). We have ensured that you can withdraw your consent at any time without any negative repercussions and wish to give you full control over the tracking on our website. You can find detailed information on your rights and how we protect your privacy in our privacy policy.
In a virtual kick-off event, Federal Minister Peter Altmaier and representatives from the states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania today launched the Northern Germany Regulatory Sandbox. The Northern Germany Regulatory Sandbox is one of the largest regulatory sandboxes for the energy transition funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The goal of the regulatory sandboxes is to accelerate the process of translating research innovations into practical applications.
Federal Minister Peter Altmaier said: “As a climate-friendly source of energy, hydrogen is vital to the success of the energy transition. A total of €52 million is available for the Northern Germany Regulatory Sandbox. The aim is to use green hydrogen to integrate industry, transport and the supply of heat in a consistent manner, thus saving large amounts of carbon dioxide. In this way, we will mitigate climate change and strengthen the economy.”
The regulatory sandboxes for the energy transition are a funding instrument within the framework of the Federal Government’s Seventh Energy Research Programme. The funding provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is used to support companies and research institutions that are developing tangible solutions for the energy transition. The regulatory sandboxes enable experts to test innovative energy technologies under existing market conditions and on an industrial scale, thus helping to speed up the process from technological development to market penetration.
The project partners participating in the Northern Germany Regulatory Sandbox will seek solutions for a holistic development of the local energy system. With a focus on four geographical centres across Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, they will develop integrated concepts for sector coupling with an emphasis on hydrogen and devise energy-efficient neighbourhood systems for the heating sector. The collaborative project includes participants from the private sector, government and science covering the entire energy value chain – including generation, transport, storage and consumption. Over a period of five years, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy will provide funding totalling more than €52 million for the Northern Germany Regulatory Sandbox.
The lynchpin of the project will be ‘green’ hydrogen, i.e. hydrogen that is produced using renewable electricity for the electrolysis of water. In the industrial sector, hydrogen can help to avoid carbon emissions by replacing natural gas, for example. And in private households, too, hydrogen has the potential to become the fuel of the future. To this end, the Northern Germany Regulatory Sandbox is to explore the prospects of converting the gas distribution system to hydrogen. With a view to speeding up the energy transition in the heating sector, the project partners are also planning to use waste heat from a waste incineration plant and an industrial plant in order to feed it into an existing district heating pipeline. Taken together, these measures could make it possible to save more than 500,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
The Northern Germany Regulatory Sandbox builds on the NEW 4.0 (Northern Germany Energy Transition 4.0) project and its demonstrators, infrastructure and systems expertise. NEW 4.0 was one of five showcase regions of the Economic Affairs Ministry’s SINTEG (Smart Energy Showcases – Digital Agenda for the Energy Transition) funding programme, which has recently been concluded.
