Hydrogen

The supposedly "sick man" of Europe has many healthy companies to point to. They benefit from location advantages like skilled labour and research excellence.

The expansion of Germany's hydrogen infrastructure has received another financial boost. Federal and state governments are distributing grants totaling 4.6 billion euros to 23 companies.

Initial investors in Thyssenkrupp Nucera shares are facing a 30% decline in value. However, Chief Financial Officer Arno Pfannschmidt prefers to attribute the reasons for the poor performance to external factors rather than internal ones.

With the new funding instrument of climate protection contracts, the state is also taking on financial risks that are currently difficult to assess.

Part of Germany's billion-dollar subsidies for hydrogen is in jeopardy. Due to suspicions of nepotism in the allocation of funding, the Federal Ministry of Transport has temporarily suspended new hydrogen projects.

Policymakers and network operators want to prevent a classic chicken-and-egg problem in the hydrogen ramp-up. Chances for success are not bad.