The implementation of a project worth EUR 15 billion for the production of green hydrogen in the Maritsa East complex is discussed at meetings with the business community in Hamburg
The traditions of the successful economic partnership between Bulgaria and the Federal State of Hamburg will be extended to new areas such as alternative energy sources and high technologies. This is what President Rumen Radev said after his meeting with the First Mayor of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher. The Head of State is visiting Germany at the invitation of his counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, with whom the Bulgarian President held a meeting in Berlin.
We can successfully overcome today's challenges only if we develop technologies together, look for new solutions and create production, the Head of State stressed. In his words, in the long term Bulgaria and Germany should exchange experience and use new technologies and solutions to achieve energy independence.
Radev highlighted Hamburg's experience in developing technologies in the field of green hydrogen and the opportunities for cooperation with Bulgaria in this direction. Germany, with its leading industry, will need a lot of hydrogen in the future and Bulgaria can produce green hydrogen and be a reliable supplier, the Head of State said and expressed confidence that the two countries would have fruitful cooperation in this field.
During his visit to Hamburg, the President also met with the Chamber of Commerce leadership and officials. He stressed that joint efforts were needed to tackle the challenges posed by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In front of the German business community Radev highlighted Bulgaria's advantages as a country with good conditions for investors - highly qualified workforce, macroeconomic stability and strategic location. During the meeting, Bulgarian business people accompanying the Head of State, discussed opportunities for cooperation with their German counterparts.
The implementation of a project worth EUR 15 billion for the production of green hydrogen in the Maritsa East complex was presented by the Bulgarian business. The planned investment includes co-financing by the business of the creation of solar capacities for the production of green hydrogen, part of which will be exported and another part will be used to balance the energy grid in this country. The business intends to complete the transformation of Maritsa East in the next 10 years or so, with 7,500 jobs to be created and a further 18,000 in supporting industries.
Bulgarian business was represented by the leaders of the employers' organisations, the management of the Trakia Economic Zone, the largest in the Balkans, as well as company officials with already established partnerships in Germany in the field of alternative energy sources. The Head of State stressed that there are already companies in Bulgaria that had practical experience in technologically replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen.
Earlier, the Head of State visited one of the largest metallurgical companies in Germany, Aurubis AG, which is active in Bulgaria with its copper mining plant. Radev was briefed on the company's activities and highlighted the need for even higher ambitions to increase exports of products with higher added value. The sides agreed that the company's corporate social responsibility is a strong incentive for business.
In the SS Cyril and Methodius Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Hamburg, President Radev met with expats in the city. During the meeting, the Head of State presented the Presidential Badge of Honour to Prof Dr Gerd-Winand Immeyer for his particularly great merits for fostering the political and economic dialogue and ties between Bulgaria and Germany. Prof Immeyer is Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Bulgaria in the German federal states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Bremen. For nearly 30 years he has actively supported the establishment and successful activities of a number of organisations of Bulgarian expats in Germany.