Hydrogen as a driver of innovation in the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region
At our 5th network meeting “Future Business Digital Networks”, which we at magility organised together with VP Bank and oeconos, entrepreneurs from all over Baden- Württemberg came together again this year to discuss the megatrend of neo-ecology and in particular the currently very hyped topic of “hydrogen”.
The speakers
Dr. Thomas Gitzel, Chief Economist of the VP Bank Group, gave an insight into the current economic situation and, using the example of pipelines from Russia, underlined the importance of global dependencies and their challenges among others, for Germany in the area of gas.
Dr. René Schellenberger introduced the world of neo-ecology with his keynote speech. He showed how ecological values are creating a new global identity and made it clear how the relationship between humans, nature and technology will change in the future and how completely new relationships will result from this.
Jan Dietz, CEO of oeconos GmbH, then moved on to the kind of change that this will bring for innovations in small and medium-sized enterprises and pragmatically showed what neo-ecology means for companies and how it will affect products, processes and business models. The return to old values, especially in production processes, will play a major role.
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Reiff, Chairman of the Board of KST Motorenversuch GmbH & Co. KG, made it clear that hydrogen will be an important building block for achieving the climate targets, but that sufficient availability, especially of green hydrogen, will still be a challenge for many years to come.
The panel discussion
Dr. Michael Müller, CEO of Magility GmbH, and Jürgen Schenk, Senior Executive Advisor of Magility GmbH, also expressed this point of view and elaborated on it in the subsequent panel discussion. In order for hydrogen to establish itself as a sustainable and easily accessible energy carrier, it is necessary to consider various fields: Production, logistics and distribution through to applications. The two magility experts discussed with the audience and the speakers which H2 applications will sustainably establish themselves on the market.
Cornelia Frey, moderator of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange, skilfully led the interactive panel discussion. She contributed important suggestions and encouraged interactive discussion with the audience. One main point was the potential that hydrogen can bring for new business models in the coming years.
Hydrogen as a driver of innovation?
Jules Verne wrote in the book “The Mysterious Island” already in 1874:
“Water is the coal of the future. The energy of tomorrow is water that has been decomposed by electric current. The elements of water thus decomposed, hydrogen and oxygen, will secure the earth’s energy supply for the unforeseeable future.”
H2 is one of the options for phasing out fossil fuels quickly and sustainably. H2, especially in its green variant, offers considerable potential for achieving climate protection goals. The modification of conventional to climate-neutral business models requires a high degree of competence and experience. The biggest challenge for companies is to find the optimal mix between climate neutrality and business success. Only when the strength of hydrogen is considered in a cross-sectoral manner for transport, power generation, heat and industry green hydrogen is able to unfold its full potential in a sustainable energy system and a viable concept can emerge.
Magility GmbH and hydrogen – position paper
We at magility see ourselves as a system integrator for hydrogen projects, especially in the fields of industry, real estate, individual mobility, transport and energy supply for the German market. We model the individual environment of our customers and can calculate individual optimisations from the available energy balances and applications. From this, we create suitable and scalable solutions that can also be expanded and adapted over time. In our new position paper “Hydrogen – just one part of the big picture Energy transition, companies and “Climate Action Failure”, we at magility take a position on the trend topic of hydrogen and show in which fields of application we see the greatest potential.
Effects of the Neoecology Megatrend
Sustainable structures are becoming the new defining economic factor of our time. The megatrend neoecology will shape the future and have a particular impact on the way companies think and act. The economic system and the market will change permanently. As a result, companies are not only faced with the challenge of orienting themselves towards the future through the digital transformation and the associated innovations and new business areas, but the 2020s will also be decisively shaped by sustainability issues that concern every entrepreneur.
Interview with Dr. Michael Müller
For further information, please read the interview with our CEO Dr. Michael Müller published by the Stuttgarter Börse.
