Wolfgang Reitzle (71), head of the gas group’s supervisory board Linden treen tree, considers the support of the federal government for the development of a hydrogen economy to be insufficient. The sum of nine billion euros that the grand coalition approved in the summer for the promotion of hydrogen “still falls short of what would be necessary”. This is what Reitzle said in his acceptance speech on the occasion of being awarded the Nicolaus August Otto Prize.
The eleven minute video was posted on YouTube.
The ex-board of directors of the car companies BMW and ford also reckons with that Electromobility from. Although this is the “politically wanted favorite”, it has considerable weaknesses compared to hydrogen. It costs many jobs in the auto industry, CO2 emissions are shifted rather than reduced, and the possible uses of electric motors are too limited. Reitzle believes that if this “one-sided determination” had not been made by politics, the introduction of the hydrogen society would be on. Currently lying Germany therefore far behind countries like China back.
Reitzle considers e-mobility to be a transitional technology and sees industrial societies facing a hydrogen revolution: “The fossil fuel society is just coming to an end and I am sure that the green hydrogen society will take its place, even if it is currently more like a battery society looks like. “
Linde should benefit from the hydrogen economy
From 2002 to 2014 Reitzle was CEO of Linde and converted the group into a pure supplier of industrial gases during this time. As chairman of the supervisory board, he then initiated the merger with US competitor Praxair in 2019. His group should benefit significantly from a comprehensive hydrogen economy.
Nicolaus August Otto (1832 to 1891), after whom the award is named, was one of the inventors of the diesel engine. The prize is awarded annually by the Cologne engine manufacturer Deutz, which goes back to Otto and his financier Eugen Langen (1833 to 1895). Your company N.A., founded in 1864 Otto & Cie. is considered the first engine factory in the world.