On 28 and 29 November, the 3rd H2Szczecin Conference "Hydrogen as the driving force of the regions" took place at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Szczecin. It was organised by the METALIKA for Industry Cluster with the support of the Marshal's Office of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship and the University of Szczecin and, as a scientific and technical conference, it was expanded in this edition to include the NETWORKIG H2 MEETING.
The event was inaugurated by PLENARY SESSION: Hydrogen for the green transformation of Poland, which The moderator was Prof. US Dr. Hab. Marzena Frankowska (University of Szczecin/METALIKA Cluster for Industry).
The first discussion session was preceded by presentations by:
Prof. Dr. Hab. Eng. Jerzy BUZEK, Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland in 1997-2001, President of the European Parliament in 2009-2012 and Anna KOSLA, Deputy Director, Energy Transformation Division of the company Gas System SA.
The following speakers then took part in the panel discussion:
- Prof. Dr. Hab. Eng. Jerzy BUZEK;
- Senator Magdalena KOCHAN, Senate of the Republic of Poland, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Climate and Environment;
- Anna KOSLA, Deputy Director, Energy Transformation Division, Gas System S.A.;
- Paul AUGUSTINE, Deputy President of the Management Board, National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management;
- Olgierd GEBLEWICZ, Marshal, West Pomeranian Marshal's Office;
- Jacek BOGUSŁAWSKI, Member of the Voivodeship Board, Greater Poland Marshal's Office;
- Marcin JABŁOŃSKI, Marshal, Lubuskie Marshal's Office:
IN second session titled Hydrogen potential of supra-regional cooperation, which was moderated by prof. US dr hab. Wojciech Drożdż (University of Szczecin) the following speakers gave their presentations:
- Maciej MALSKI-BRODZIŃSKI – Innovation Support Expert, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego;
3W Innovation Office, - Holger GALLAS, President of the Management Board, Sevivon Sp. z o. o. PNE Group;
- Sven HERRMANN – Regionalmanager, Uckermark-Barnim Regional Planning Association (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Region);
who were then joined as speakers in the panel discussion by:
- Thomas Nicholas ROMANOWSKI, PtX Team, Royal Danish Embassy;
- Piotr Kosowicz, President of the Management Boards of EcoEnergyH2 Company and the Uznam-Wolin Hydrogen Valley Association.
Western Pomerania is a region with the largest share in Poland in the production of energy from renewable sources, which is particularly predisposed to the production of the most valuable, zero-emission "green" hydrogen, which makes it the first energy-self-sufficient region in Poland, and due to its geographical location it has the potential to become a hydrogen hub for Poland and play a key role also on an international scale.
This year's two-day Conference once again confirmed the need to meet and confront actions undertaken as small initiatives and the need to consolidate them in order to generate synergy effects to accelerate the development of the entire region.
Water is the coal of the future
The energy of tomorrow is water that has been decomposed using electricity. The elements of water, hydrogen and oxygen, decomposed in this way, will provide the Earth with energy for an unpredictable period of time.
(Jules Verne – 1828-1905)