Press release August 27, 2024
Iqony presents the Bergkamen power plant project to Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Presentation at the “O-Werk” in Bochum as part of the Chancellor’s trip to the Ruhr region organized by RVR
Bochum/Bergkamen/Essen. At the invitation of the Ruhr Regional Association (RVR), the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the Ruhr region on Monday, August 26. Accompanied by RVR Chairman Garrelt Duin and Herne’s Mayor Dr. Frank Dudda in his capacity as Chairman of the Ruhr Parliament, the Chancellor visited various companies and research institutions in the region. One of the focal points of the tour was the topic of hydrogen and shaping the future energy supply.
One of the places the Chancellor visited was the O-Werk in Bochum. The designated “hotspot of the digital economy and science” on the site of the former Opel plant is one of the flagship projects that have been created as part of Bochum’s “Mark 51.7” economic and urban development project.
In the run-up to a high-profile business dialogue, which concluded the visit by the Chancellor and his delegation, Dr. Andreas Reichel, CEO and Labor Director of STEAG and Iqony, provided the Chancellor with an update on the current planning status of the new hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plant in Bergkamen.
The challenges facing the power plant strategy are well known
In a personal meeting, the Chancellor demonstrated that he was well informed of the power plant strategy and was particularly interested in a model of the planned plant. “The Chancellor made it clear that he is familiar with the complex issues surrounding the power plant strategy and its interdependence with other key areas of the energy transition, such as the hydrogen core network or the ramp-up of hydrogen production,” said Andreas Reichel. With a view to the pending finalization of the German government’s central energy, climate and industrial policy project, Olaf Scholz has made it clear that he expects final and groundbreaking decisions to be made in the near future.
Willingness to invest presupposes investment security
In his conversation with the Chancellor, Andreas Reichel once again emphasized not only the willingness but also the ability of STEAG and Iqony to build a new and, thanks to hydrogen, climate-neutral gas-fired power plant at the existing Bergkamen site, if the framework conditions provide the necessary investment security.
“We are well advanced in our preparations, the scoping meeting has already given the go-ahead for the approval process and we have already invested money to take the project as far as it can go without a decision on the final regulatory conditions – and the Chancellor is aware that it is now up to the politicians to deliver,” Andreas Reichel summarizes.
Chancellor reaffirms the need for new power plants
Together with Iqony CEO and COO Dr. Ralf Schiele, Andreas Reichel also took part in the subsequent business dialogue, in which Olaf Scholz reiterated in a large group that Germany urgently needs new power plant capacity to secure a climate-friendly energy supply.
