ERFURT “Produce, live and work CO2-neutrally in the Eichsfeld” – under this guiding principle, various actors from business and society want to start a comprehensive project for the transformation and decarbonization, above all of the energy supply and industrial value creation, in the northwestern Thuringian district. A corresponding declaration of intent with the goal of helping to make the Eichsfeld greenhouse-gas-neutral was signed today, Thursday, December 7, 2023, by representatives of Eichsfeld companies and institutions that initiated the project: Signatories were Dr. Stefan Hoppe, Managing Director of Eichsfelder Schraubenwerk GmbH (ESW), Bernd Spitzbarth, IG Metall Nordhausen, Horst Albert from LEG Thüringen as well as company representatives and works councils from MUBEA, MUSASHi and Gestamp GRIWE, furthermore representatives of the municipality and the institutions “Thuringian Energy and GreenTech Agency (ThEGA)” and the “Thuringian Renewable Energies Network (ThEEN) e. V.” and finally scientific institutions such as Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences. The signing took place at the Eichsfeldwerke, host of an accompanying workshop.
The breadth of participants makes clear that the project initiators understand the mammoth task of decarbonization as a holistic challenge that must be supported by the broadest possible participation and acceptance of a wide variety of stakeholders in the district. The ambitious goals of achieving a CO2-neutral economy and society and securing industrial jobs can only be reached through cooperation and the creation of synergies – this concerns, for example, measures for waste heat utilization, the joint generation and use of renewable energies, or the shift toward a CO2-neutral transport system with the extensive implementation of electromobility on the roads. On the other hand, companies are assigned a key role in the transformation – both the decision-makers in companies and the employees and their representatives. In the future, companies should produce in a climate-neutral manner as much as possible using new innovative processes, and at the same time, due to their technological competencies, they will be able to manufacture products that themselves no longer produce greenhouse gases – this concerns, for example, components for electromobility vehicles, whose production can be significantly expanded given the already strong expertise in the region. The basis for the project work now starting will be a regional energy efficiency network involving as many partners as possible.
