Aiwanger in an interview: "We will play at the forefront when it comes to hydrogen technologies"

Created: 12/31/2022, 8:42 am

By: Wolfgang DePonte

Hubert Aiwanger (FW), Bavarian Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, speaks at a press conference after the cabinet meeting in the Home Ministry.

© Daniel Karmann/dpa

Bavaria's Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (free voters) in an interview about investment tips, frugality and the prospects for Bavaria.

Munich – Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) is not only Bavaria's Economics Minister, but also comes from agriculture.

The Lower Bavarian considers it dangerous that more and more farmers are giving up their businesses.

Similar to energy, the country should achieve more independence.

Aiwanger sees himself as down-to-earth when it comes to consumption and investments.

He certifies that the Free State has the power to create new export hits.

Interview with Bavaria's Economics Minister Aiwanger: I don't need "the great luxury".

Mr. Aiwanger, many people are groaning under the increased prices. Can you encourage them for next year?

And how do you deal with inflation yourself?

Thank God the economy is surprisingly stable despite the very poor general conditions.

Big thanks to the entrepreneurs and the employees for this achievement, that the country is running.

Nevertheless, I expect that the energy supply can be stabilized again and that we can get this inflation driver under control.

The situation is very difficult for people with normal or lower incomes.

Are you a thrifty person?

Do you go shopping yourself?

I'm not a person who needs great luxury or a lot of consumption.

Even when I didn't have a state parliament or ministerial salary and worked at home on the farm, I was satisfied.

I do some shopping myself, but unfortunately I don't have the time most of the time.

Aiwanger advises photovoltaic systems - "push electricity bills down"

What role does money play in your life?

Do you have an “investment tip” for our readers?

Ever speculated on the stock market?

It is perhaps due to my rural background that I do not gamble for money and property.

But if you want to invest well and securely in the next few years, you should go into renewable energies.

Participate in a citizen energy cooperative, for example.

If you have a photovoltaic system screwed onto your own roof, you can not only earn good money yourself by feeding it into the grid, but also reduce your electricity bill, which is now difficult to calculate.

How much does a minister earn?

Do you feel well paid?

My references are transparent and you can google everything.

Nevertheless, I would not recommend anyone to go into politics because of the salary (Editor's note: According to Google, salary level B11, 14,785 euros per month).

Do you remember for what and when you got your first self-earned money?

And what did you spend it on?

I earned my first money by working on the farm, my first car was an Opel Corsa, which I then drove to military service and to university.

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"More and more farmers are giving up their farms": Aiwanger observes a dangerous development

You grew up on a farm, completed your training as an agricultural engineer – what is your impression of agricultural products being paid fairly?

By far not.

Agriculture is one of the most regulated industries with ever-tightening requirements that cost a lot of money and are often not rewarded.

At the same time, the large supermarket chains are pushing prices down and people want affordable food.

More and more farmers are giving up their farms, which is very dangerous if we want resilient domestic food production.

Do we need more organic?

Or every day meat?

Organic and meat are not mutually exclusive, but regionality is often better organic.

In the end, the customers decide what they want and Bioware can no longer find enough customers because it is also more expensive due to the regulations.

Politicians would do well not to give people any guidelines for their menus.

Electricity and heating costs have exploded.

You are doing everything you can to expand wind power in Bavaria.

When will the first turbine be in your yard and what do you say to opponents of wind power who are bothered by the aesthetics of the turbines?

I produce renewable raw materials on the farm to sell to a biogas plant.

We heat the house with our own firewood.

Wind turbines are necessary to improve the energy supply, although we also need base loads such as biogas or fossil fuels.

It's not about aesthetics, it's about utility.

Aiwanger on Bavaria's future: "We will be at the forefront of hydrogen technologies"

Your forecasts for the future: When will Bavaria be independent of energy supplies, for example from Russia?

As a densely populated industrial country with few raw materials of our own, we are dependent on energy and raw material imports.

Here we are forced to seek out the most flawless Democrats, provided we find enough.

We will continue to depend on energy imports such as green hydrogen.

We shouldn't get caught up in new, one-sided dependencies here.

We will do well to source the hydrogen from a variety of countries.

Bavarians have always been inventive, refrigerators (Carl von Linde), baby food (Hipp) or MP3 technology (Fraunhofer Institute Erlangen), screw-in studs for soccer shoes (Adi Dassler) are just a few keywords.

What will be the next export hit from Bavaria?

When it comes to hydrogen technologies, we will be at the forefront.

BMW has just put its first small series of fuel cell cars on the road, and over the next few years electrolysers for H2 production will be built throughout Bavaria with our new funding program.

In addition, we are strongly represented in a number of European industrial projects.

The harmless transport of hydrogen in an oily liquid, also known as LOHC, is a Bavarian invention from Erlangen and will revolutionize hydrogen logistics.

Then there is the Bavarian Hydrogen Alliance, which I set up: after three years, it already has over 300 members.

Here we have gathered an immense potential for innovation that will move the world.

Interview: Wolfgang de Ponte