Current issues and challenges of European energy policy at the level of the Czech Republic and the Free State of Saxony were the focus of a transnational German-Czech Energy Forum on August 28. Representatives from politics, administration, local authorities, the energy industry and business associations from the Czech Republic and Saxony took part in the exchange on the Görlitz campus of the HSZG.

The aim of the energy forum was to support efforts to realign European energy policy. The event was moderated by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Kratzsch, Rector of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. The aim is to establish a tradition of this format and to conduct a constructive dialog between the key representatives of the Czech Republic and Germany, which should also include the Republic of Poland in the future. This project is particularly important for Germany and Europe as a whole and is supported in particular by Michael Kretschmer, Prime Minister of the Free State of Saxony.

Green Deal - prospects and challenges

The Minister President opened the first part of the event, which focused on the Green Deal.

This focuses on increasing the competitiveness and resilience of EU economies on the path to climate neutrality by 2050. Affordable energy prices and security of supply are seen as a key location factor for the transformation of our economy.

How is the Green Deal perceived in Germany and the Czech Republic? And what opportunities does it offer for economic growth, innovation and productivity? In their welcoming addresses and keynote speeches, guests such as Věra Kovářova, Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and State Secretary of the SMWA Ines Fröhlich shed light on various perspectives and challenges of the increasingly important European concept.

Secure and affordable energy

In the second part of the Energy Forum, sustainable solutions and practical examples of the Green Deal were outlined in detail. In specialist presentations, Prof. Thomas von Unwerth, CEO of HZwo, and Petr Mervart, Head of the Czech Republic's Hydrogen Strategy Department at the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, presented the role and benefits of hydrogen for the future of energy.

The Free State of Saxony and the Czech Republic would like to further intensify their cooperation in the development of a hydrogen infrastructure and the use of hydrogen. To this end, a joint declaration of intent was signed by the Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport (SMWA) and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade (SMEKUL) in Dresden in January.