The President of the Government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès i Garcia, and the Minister-President of the Government of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, met today to reinforce the relationship between the two regions on strategic issues such as green hydrogen. One year after the creation of the bilateral working group on green hydrogen between the two governments, the two heads of the Executive have reported on the initial results of this collaboration.

“It is a partnership that reinforces Catalonia’s central role in Europe’s energy transition and, therefore, we will continue working together through cooperation and combined efforts to promote green hydrogen as one of Europe’s future energy sources,” President Aragonès emphasised in the joint statement following the working meeting held at the seat of the Government of Catalonia.

Aragonès underlined that this bilateral group seeks to foster strategic collaborations to develop, create and implement green hydrogen energy “and also to support what should be the future hydrogen transport network in Europe with a commitment to lead”. The President claimed that both regions specialise in the industrial sector and argued that industrialisation must be inclusive in terms of both digital and green jobs. This is why he considers it crucial to focus on decarbonisation and to commit to sustainable energy, and he spoke positively of the work that has been done so far in this shared effort with Baden-Württemberg.

In this regard, he highlighted the initial results of the bilateral group made up from representatives of the two governments, including the identification of existing resources in each region and their potential, the agreement to create a joint industrial doctoral programme on green hydrogen, and the promotion of missions between Baden-Württemberg and Catalonia to share experiences from the research and business sectors.

He also defined Baden-Württemberg as one of Catalonia’s main strategic allies in Europe and added that, in addition to bilateral work on green hydrogen, the two regions have a historical relationship in areas such as the Four Motors for Europe network and collaboration in the automotive industry and its transition to electric vehicles.

Furthermore, he explained that the two heads of government have committed to jointly defend their shared interests before European institutions to contribute to Europe’s competitiveness on a global scale from two economically strong regions. “We will continue working together to jointly advocate for the shared interests of two leading, advanced industrial regions before European institutions. We want an inclusive economy that provides opportunities for all”.