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The economy in Germany stands at a turning point: High energy and raw material costs, lengthy approval processes, growing bureaucracy, and increasing global challenges jeopardise investments, innovations, and the appeal of Germany as a business location. At its plenary assembly in November 2023, the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) adopted a resolution presenting ten clear demands to pave the way towards a restart in economic and location policies.
With its fundamental resolution "#CreatingBetterTogether – now!", the DIHK plenary assembly in November 2023 sent a strong signal for an urgently needed shift in economic policy. The resolution summarises the alarming situation across many sectors – marked by structural weaknesses, cyclical risks, and an increasing number of regulatory burdens. It identifies concrete challenges and outlines ten key demands for politics and administration to swiftly and sustainably strengthen Germany's competitiveness and businesses' ability to act.
An Economy under Stress
Germany's economy is increasingly tilting. Structural challenges in several sectors are merging with worsening cyclical conditions to create a crisis. The lack of investments and negative business expectations indicate that Germany is losing its appeal as a location.
Businesses report growing frustration due to constant new reporting requirements and regulatory directives – despite politically promised reliefs. These developments are increasingly leading to the relocation of industrial production abroad.
Growing Burdens – Fading Trust
Coupled with this are major uncertainties from high energy and raw material prices, increased financing costs, as well as profound changes due to digitalisation, decarbonisation, and demographic transitions. The Federal Constitutional Court's ruling on fiscal policy has further exacerbated the existing insecurity.
Many businesses now doubt whether political promises will lead to tangible improvements. Trust can only be rekindled if changes are specific, practical, and arrive swiftly, reliably, and comprehendibly.
Politics at its Limit: Too Many Rules, Too Little Effect
The core issue lies in a political style overly reliant on micro-management and detailed regulations. Complex and sometimes contradictory requirements overwhelm not only businesses but also administrative systems. The consequence: regulations that are scarcely feasible or monitorable in practice.
Businesses wish for policies that establish simple, comprehensible, and effective frameworks – allowing them the necessary freedom to craft their own solutions. Effective economic policy means shaping frameworks rather than regulating every detail.
A New Understanding of Trust and Responsibility
Businesses are ready to assume responsibility and actively contribute to solving major future challenges. However, this requires policies that proactively include the perspectives of practical business operations and foster trust in the economy’s own initiatives.
In times of multiple crises, Germany can only succeed if a new sense of togetherness emerges – guided by mutual respect, dialogue, and trust.
Now Utilise the Momentum for an Economic Policy Turnaround
As challenging as the situation is, it offers the opportunity to now set the course for a modern and future-proof economic and location policy. Bold decisions are needed that enable short-term relief and long-term structural improvements.
With the following ten points, the DIHK illustrates what needs to be tackled to make Germany an attractive, innovative, and competitive location once again.
Resolution Text in Full Wording
Germany as a Business Location is Losing Its Appeal
The German economy is increasingly experiencing imbalances. Certain industries are even struggling with crisis-like developments. Structural challenges are currently being amplified by poor economic conditions. Germany as a business location is losing its appeal. Lack of investment and negative economic expectations underline this point.
Only with a strong signal of renewal can politicians regain the trust they have lost among businesses in recent years: too many announcements, too few good deeds. Contrary to relief promises, businesses are confronted with more reporting obligations and directives. More burdens are already on the agenda.
Frustration and, in many cases, despair among many companies are on the rise— and the relocation of industrial production abroad is increasing. An uncertain energy supply, high energy and raw material costs, as well as profound changes through digitisation, decarbonisation, and demographic developments, already pose significant challenges to companies. The Federal Constitutional Court's ruling on fiscal policy and its consequences currently heighten uncertainty. However, this increases pressure towards reforms.
Businesses will only broadly regain confidence in politics when positive changes can be experienced in practice— quickly and concretely. This starts with more trust in self-initiative. Above all, politicians should free themselves of the notion of wanting to regulate everything down to the smallest detail. The pinnacle of good politics lies in simple, understandable rules that work well in practice— especially in operational reality. With micromanagement and contradictory regulations, the state overwhelms not only the economy but also itself. Rules, duties, and directives are created which, ultimately, also have to be controlled. Promises are made on matters which often cannot be upheld in practice. Businesses desire not more complicated rules, but sound, growth-oriented policy!
Politicians should define frameworks and create space for manoeuvre; they should offer favourable conditions. And then they should trust that companies will operate within these frameworks. Such a sign of recognition would be crucial. Especially in view of multiple crises, politics must rely more on the engagement and creativity within the country— and enable it. The political message must be: We need you. We want you to act. We place our trust in your self-responsibility— within businesses and in society. This way, we can successfully lead Germany into an economic future. This way, mutual trust can arise again. This way, we can achieve #CreatingBetterTogether— now.
If everyone focuses on their core tasks and appreciates the strengths of others, then a project can be successful— this applies to companies and to our country as a whole. We, as the economy, want to contribute to solving issues. For this to happen, however, politics must early on consider the perspective of operational practice in dialogue. We need a new sense of togetherness for a successful Germany, marked by mutual trust, appreciation, and dialogue.
As difficult as the current situation may be, it offers a momentum to now initiate a paradigm shift in economic and location policy. We need bold policy shifts, beyond populism and timidity, enabling short-term relief that takes effect immediately in practice and implementing long-term measures to make Germany as a business location more attractive.
Germany's growth, innovation, and pace of change are stalling due to endless planning and approval processes. This resolution underscores the need to expedite these processes across industries, broadband expansion, and sustainable urban and transportation developments.
The energy price crisis remains a foreseeable challenge for the German economy. Sustainable solutions lie in significantly expanding energy offerings, especially renewable energies. The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) proposes advancing investments and reducing grid fees for green electricity contracts (PPA). This includes faster grid connections for plants and easier energy sharing in local areas. Reductions in electricity tax for manufacturing industries are overdue and should be extended to all businesses.
Facilitating skilled worker immigration is crucial in light of the current skill shortages. However, the new regulations remain overly complex in detail and often overwhelm SMEs and implementation authorities. Therefore, they should not be seen as set in stone but should be constantly reviewed alongside their implementation. Why can’t companies themselves primarily decide who qualifies as a skilled worker?
People with professional experience should thus also be able to come to us with an employment contract and an annual income of €30,000. A nationwide clearing office with sufficient competencies and capacities would also be sensible, to which companies can turn in case of practical problems. Overall, administrative processes need to become significantly faster – especially through greater digitalization.
More collaboration and partnership between the state and the economy are part of the solution. AHKs can now conclude agreements with foreign missions to enable faster processing of business travel visas – this should be extended to skilled worker immigration. Within the country, federal states and municipalities should see the IHKs as self-managed economic organizations as stronger cooperation partners for their immigration authorities. Additionally, establishing central immigration authorities in the federal states should continue to provide competent contacts for businesses.
Concrete starting points could be:
Digitalize the Visa Process
To make the entire migration process faster and more transparent, the visa process needs to be digitalized – starting with an online application process. In this digital process, the status and progress of the procedure should also be visible in real-time for companies and applicants. Visa offices must be equipped with sufficient capacities so they do not become bottlenecks. AHKs should also be able to assist with the application process, thereby contributing to acceleration – not only for business travel visas but also for skilled workers.
Background: Months-long waiting times for a visa appointment at the embassy are not uncommon today and deter companies and sought-after skilled workers. According to the latest DIHK Skilled Worker Report, more than every second company that considers skilled worker recruitment from third countries an option wishes for a simplification and acceleration of administrative procedures. The Foreign Office has started the process of visa digitalization, but this must be implemented swiftly.
Establish a Nationwide Clearing Office
In practical problems, questions, complaints, and ambiguities in the ongoing migration process, companies and skilled workers need such an office to quickly get support and solve issues promptly. This clearing office must not only resolve problems but also systematically process incoming concerns and use them as a basis for evaluating the Skilled Worker Immigration Act.
Background: Companies often lack the opportunity to contact a point of reference for questions, problems, and stalled processes. Companies report that foreign missions and immigration authorities are often barely reachable, and emails go unanswered. The Skilled Worker Immigration Act remains complex and not sufficiently transparent. It must constantly be reviewed, and quick steering is required in case of adverse developments – for this, company experiences are indispensable. The first point of contact provided for in the law at BAMF seems to focus on recording and evaluating difficulties but not primarily on resolving them.
Create a Central Immigration Authority in Each Federal State
There, important know-how specifically for skilled worker migration can be built up and pooled to speed up processes. Accessible experts must be available there for companies and their skilled workers. Moreover, there should be strengthened cooperation and regular exchange between IHKs and immigration authorities. This way, information gaps from the specific areas of the economy and administration can be reconciled and practical problems solved with mutual understanding. IHKs can also support businesses as part of such cooperation, for example in the "accelerated procedure" by compiling documents and thus expediting processes.
Background: IHKs and businesses report long processing times in immigration authorities and varying decisions on identical facts. The legal regulations for skilled worker immigration are complex, and regional immigration authorities are not always up to date. Additionally, staff shortages and tasks such as asylum decisions can delay skilled worker procedures. Many IHKs express a desire for better, regular exchanges with immigration authorities. Existing collaborations between IHKs and immigration authorities already help expedite procedures in the interest of businesses.
Addressing current crises, advancing digitisation, and transforming the economy to climate neutrality demand exceptional investment conditions in Germany. Tax policy should therefore be increasingly viewed as an instrument of active economic policy and investment promotion. This is because, in the medium and long term, sustainable state tax revenues can only be achieved based on successful businesses and a growing economy.
A genuine corporate tax reform must therefore be a cornerstone of an ambitious forward-looking policy. The priority should be to strengthen companies’ ability to invest. This is particularly crucial in times of transformation towards climate neutrality, where significantly higher levels of private investment are needed – a critical aspect that has been largely overlooked so far. Nominal tax burdens, which are currently over 30% irrespective of company structure, should be reduced to a competitive level. In many industrialised nations, this burden does not exceed 25%.
Stable municipal tax revenues are vital, without question. As such, business tax should ideally be replaced by profit-dependent local taxes, allowing municipalities to retain their own multiplier rights. At the same time, any taxation on cost bases that is out-of-step with systems and detrimental to investments should be avoided – this particularly applies to additions for business tax. Differential treatment in financing through equity or borrowed capital should no longer result in discriminatory taxation, as this also negatively impacts investments. The 'middle-class buckle' in income tax rates hinders the economic efforts of entrepreneurs and employees – flattening it and completely abolishing the solidarity surcharge would increase companies' investment capacity. Conversely, higher or new taxes on business assets like inheritance tax or wealth tax should be strictly avoided.
Specific approaches could include:
Initiating corporate tax reform now
The core of an ambitious forward-looking policy should be a genuine corporate tax reform. This should primarily reduce the internationally comparative high tax burden for businesses in Germany – currently often over 30% – to a competitive level. In many industrialised nations, the rate does not exceed 25%. A corporate tax reform should also accelerate tax depreciation and enhance loss carryover rules under tax law, thereby improving business liquidity and freeing up resources for additional investments. Private business investments account for around 90% of all investments in Germany and are vital for a successful economic transformation towards climate neutrality and digitalisation. Further, the corporate tax reform should significantly simplify tax law and reduce tax-related bureaucracy, such as by introducing significantly shorter retention periods.
Background: The last corporate tax reform, which significantly reduced the burden, took place 15 years ago. Since then, both German and international corporate tax systems have grown increasingly complex. Businesses now face considerable increases in compliance costs, driven in part by extensive reporting obligations.
Replacing business tax
As the dominant municipal tax, business tax should ideally be replaced by a profit-dependent local tax, aligned with the income or corporate tax base. This would stabilise municipal revenues, which are vital for delivering strong infrastructure to businesses locally. Municipalities should retain their independent multiplier rights for this tax to continue location-based competition between cities. In the short term, any investment-hostile taxation on costs within business tax should be avoided – particularly additions for costs such as rents, leases, or interest payments. Internationally untypical, business tax not only places a high tax burden on businesses but also adds substantial bureaucratic effort since businesses must file a separate tax return for it.
Background: Annual multiplier surveys conducted by the DIHK reveal that municipal business tax multipliers often trend upwards. Consequently, companies face increased local tax burdens. This stems partly from the unique design of business tax with its own tax base, which also inflates corporate bureaucracy costs. Moving to a surcharge on income or corporate tax would significantly reduce such bureaucracy, eliminate cost taxation within business tax, and provide municipalities with more reliable revenue streams.
The shortage of skilled workers is becoming increasingly acute, particularly in the area of vocationally qualified professionals. Companies are finding it harder to attract trainees. However, a missing apprentice today becomes a missing skilled worker tomorrow. Therefore, we must work together to ensure that dual vocational training receives the societal recognition it deserves. We want to promote its recipe for success – the close connection between theory and practice – as well as its excellent career opportunities. The federal government and states should implement the vocational school pact announced in the coalition agreement and make the necessary investments in vocational schools. Without well-functioning vocational schools, dual vocational training struggles to achieve its goals. Additionally, in times of skilled worker shortages, external vocational training must remain the absolute exception.
Successful vocational training begins at school. Therefore, we need mandatory and balanced career guidance as a core task for all types of schools. Only in this way can school leavers across the board make their best individual career choice. High schools also have an obligation to inform about the numerous opportunities of vocational training – and not just higher education. Politics and business should work together to leverage as much potential for vocational training as possible, whether from high-performing individuals, young people facing initial hurdles, or those with a migration or refugee background. Measures like entry-level qualifications, assisted training, and voluntary mentoring by professionals can help achieve this.
Practical starting points:
Valuing Vocational Education – Strengthening Career Orientation
The federal government, states, businesses, and unions should advocate for increasing the appreciation of vocational education. State governments should make balanced and practice-oriented career guidance a mandatory task at all schools. High schools must not solely focus on higher education but also inform about the diverse opportunities offered by vocational training and higher vocational education. Furthermore, the federal government should jointly strengthen the tool of 'trainee ambassadors' with the chambers nationwide, advance the establishment of a German Vocational Exchange Service – akin to the German Academic Exchange Service – and sharpen their Excellence Initiative for Vocational Education.
Background: According to the latest training survey by the DIHK, nearly half of IHK training companies cannot fill all their trainee positions. Eighty percent of IHK companies intend to expand their efforts in career orientation according to the DIHK survey. Career orientation initiatives such as trainee ambassadors and school internships are part of this. Last year, the DIHK and IHKs launched a national campaign featuring authentic trainees to inspire school graduates and their parents about IHK vocational training.
Launching the Vocational School Pact
The federal government and states should finally launch the long-promised vocational school pact and make the necessary investments. This includes providing good and modern equipment for school buildings – including reliable IT infrastructure, modern learning media, and ample numbers of well-qualified teachers. Above all, the digital infrastructure of vocational schools must be brought up to date.
Background: In its coalition agreement, the federal government announced a joint vocational school pact with the states. Initial cornerstones have since been presented, but from the DIHK's perspective, they are insufficient as they provide for exchange formats but not investments.
Prioritising Company Vocational Training
The federal government should ensure that in the implementation of the legally anchored training guarantee, company-based training and entry-level qualifications are prioritised over external training programmes. Only in this way can skilled workers who meet the actual needs of companies be trained, and misinvestments avoided.
Background: The legally anchored training guarantee, effective as of summer 2023, stipulates a right to external training in regions experiencing 'significant undersupply.' However, given numerous unfilled company training positions and limited public funds, external training should remain an exception. Instead, measures like entry-level qualifications, assisted training, and voluntary mentoring support should be used more systematically.
The level of innovation among businesses in this country is at a historic low. Too often, research and innovation are slowed down in Germany by complicated and bureaucratic rules. Necessary innovations for the transformation of the economy are therefore not being achieved. We need simpler procedures, technology-neutral support programmes, and more digitalisation, especially in research policy. The government should quickly introduce the Real-Laboratory Act. Real laboratories and experimental clauses are a low-threshold way for companies to advance innovations within a less restrictive regulatory framework – driving forward new products, processes, or services.
Many companies have already taken steps towards digitalisation, but the potential is far from being exhausted. Added to this are the numerous possibilities of artificial intelligence. We need good conditions to enable companies in Germany to develop, reuse, and use AI models. This includes unified standards, more legal certainty, and less bureaucracy so that the potential of AI is not left untapped. The federal government must quickly provide clarity on the implementation of the AI Act. Start-ups need support through easier access to data, computing capacity, and capital.
Specific approaches could include:
Simplify procedures – with the help of real laboratories
The federal government should swiftly introduce the Real-Laboratory Act. Real laboratories are a helpful instrument to enable innovations within a loosened legal framework while simultaneously simplifying regulations. With the help of real laboratories, regulations and guidelines can be scaled back, adapted to be more practical, and ultimately facilitate the transfer into practice. Additionally, politicians should scrutinise regulations that burden innovations, such as the scope of approval and licensing procedures.
Background: In its coalition agreement, the federal government formulated the aim to create a Real-Laboratory Act that enables new opportunities for testing innovations. This is necessary because corporate innovation activities in this country are at a historic low. A lack of skilled workers and increasing bureaucracy are severely limiting the innovative capacity of the German economy (DIHK Innovation Report 2023).
Artificial intelligence – Europe needs a clear regulatory framework
The federal government must quickly provide clarity on the implementation of the AI Act, which is expected to be passed in 2024. An agreement during this legislative period would create legal and planning security for the German economy. The focus should be on establishing a national authority that oversees the implementation of the AI Act in cooperation with the planned European AI Office. Another key aspect is the harmonisation of national, European, and international standardisation bodies to ensure that Germany and Europe’s competitiveness is not hampered by different standards. Enhanced cooperation between the USA and the UK in the field of AI would also be essential.
To establish a national AI ecosystem, start-ups and SMEs need greater support, particularly in gaining easier access to data, computing power, and venture capital. Businesses would benefit from better networking across the value chain. An established knowledge exchange through competence centres and AI hubs would promote the application of AI across the economy. Regarding national and cross-border networking of companies and research institutions, the federal government can act as a mediator.
Background: The DIHK Digitalisation Survey 2022/2023 shows that a lack of time and financial resources is the greatest hurdle to overcome when implementing digitalisation projects. However, digitalisation is a crucial precondition for integrating AI systems. Currently, only 14 per cent of companies use AI, while 23 per cent plan to do so in the future (2022). This trend highlights that businesses operate risk-averse and require a clear regulatory framework to strategically harness the technology. The AI Act provides a basis for this but needs to be supported by strategic measures at international and national levels.
Improving knowledge transfer with DATI
The planned German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (DATI) should promote effective knowledge transfer between business and academia. This should be open to themes and stakeholders and be implemented without bureaucracy. Collaboration with regional transfer partners should be fostered: Across Germany, 140 innovation and technology advisors from the IHK organisation help businesses with technology transfer.
Background: Potential in collaborations between academia and business remains untapped. According to the DIHK Innovation Report 2023, one in four businesses considers the regional cooperation opportunities with academia as needing improvement.
Every fourth job in Germany depends directly or indirectly on exports, and in the industry sector this applies to every second job. German businesses thrive on global competition, while consumers benefit from a wide range of affordable goods made possible through international trade. Against the backdrop of increasing protectionism, rising geopolitical risks, and reduced competitiveness, we need smart EU trade policies and an ambitious EU competition agenda. We must engage with our partners on equal footing.
Circular economies and resource-efficient technologies are becoming increasingly important during this period of transformation. Germany and Europe should seize the opportunity to unlock new value creation and employment potential in this area. This can also contribute to reducing dependence on raw materials. However, achieving greater independence from raw materials also requires intensified utilisation of domestic resource deposits. Overregulation through standards, for example regarding product properties and recyclability, currently limits the opportunities in this area.
Germany already boasts relatively high recycling rates and industrial expertise in circular production processes. We need to transform this strong starting point into market opportunities to establish a leadership role in technology, which will also benefit climate protection. Real-world laboratories promote innovations for circular economies and strengthen regional economic cycles.
Concrete approaches could include:
Facilitating Circular Economies
The German government should create conditions enabling businesses to utilise the circular economy more intensively than before. This involves, first, incorporating recycled secondary raw materials more prominently in public procurement criteria. Doing so would support the development of a market for products manufactured using recycled materials. Second, companies' innovation capabilities should be strengthened to ensure material flows are extensively and comprehensively closed. This could involve, for example, real-world laboratories that provide freedom to test innovations, thereby initially avoiding lengthy approval processes for new technologies. Third, closing material cycles can also be supported through customised regulations on waste ending, particularly in the construction sector. Aligning the national Waste End Ordinance with the National Substitute Building Materials Ordinance could contribute to introducing mineral substitute materials into material cycles and ensure they are recognised as high-quality, certified recycling products.
Background: More than 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions result from resource extraction and processing. Following the European Union’s guidelines, the German government aims to transform the predominantly linear economy into a circular one. The focus is on preserving resources by considering the product lifecycle in its entirety.
Digital Product Passports as a Transformation Opportunity
For widespread acceptance of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) within Germany’s SME sector, policymakers must ensure DPPs are perceived not as an additional burden but as an opportunity for resource-efficient and climate-neutral production. Digital Product Passports are intended to enable circular economies. Therefore, additional reporting obligations must be minimised. Additionally, it must be ensured that competitive information is protected. A successful DPP approach can only be effective if it ensures equitable collaboration among all supply chain participants, including the active involvement of German SMEs in developing and implementing DPP approaches.
Background: As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission has proposed a fundamental revision of regulations on ecodesign to promote more sustainable products. An essential component is expected to be a "Digital Product Passport." This passport aims to improve transparency regarding the environmental impact of products, making repairs and recycling simpler. Additionally, the passports are intended to facilitate inspections and controls by authorities. European institutions are currently negotiating the exact design of these passports.
The majority of economically relevant laws are now created in Brussels. Therefore, the Federal Government must advocate for economically reasonable rules with moderation at the European level and work to reduce bureaucracy. At the same time, it is responsible for lean and practical implementation of EU regulations in Germany. Many existing EU laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation, posted workers regulations, and chemical regulations, have been designed and implemented in a disproportionately bureaucratic way. New regulations, such as sustainability reporting, the EU supply chain law, and industrial policy initiatives, create new reporting and disclosure obligations, directly contradicting the stated aim of reducing reporting obligations.
Large parts of the infrastructure show significant deficits. This massively impacts daily business operations. There are bottlenecks, outdated and partly deteriorated infrastructure, as well as vulnerabilities to sabotage. The speed of renewal and expansion does not currently meet the needs of the economy. The reasons range from long implementation times due to a multitude of challenges between determining needs and commissioning, to questions of profitability in private sector provision, and to public budget constraints in financing. Additionally, the security of infrastructures has gained importance against the backdrop of current geopolitical challenges.
Thus, renovation as well as expansion are necessary: E-mobility requires adequate charging infrastructure; the development of hydrogen infrastructure must be tackled quickly, and the well-known bottlenecks in transport infrastructure, whether road, rail, or waterway, must be eliminated. A successful economy also requires nationwide fibre-optic and mobile networks. The expansion of fibre-optic and mobile networks should primarily be driven by the private sector. Public funding is only needed where the market cannot ensure equivalent supply in the area. Nevertheless, the federal government must promote and orchestrate network expansion together with states, municipalities, and developing companies.
Concrete approaches could include:
Initiating infrastructure projects
All priority projects of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan must be implemented. Sufficient funds must be made available for this in the coming years, and the planning and approval processes for all projects must be accelerated. Further postponement or questioning of projects from the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan for climate protection reasons is not necessary. In the medium term, all modes of transport will be CO2-neutral anyway. Moreover, the positive macroeconomic effects were demonstrated in cost-benefit analyses for all projects. Any further delay worsens the location conditions for companies. To cope with traffic growth, both upgrades and new constructions of roads, railways, and waterways are equally needed.
Background: Traffic will continue to increase in the coming years. A current study by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) expects an increase in passenger traffic by 13% and freight traffic by even 46% for the period 2019 to 2051. This traffic growth cannot be managed with the current transport infrastructure.
Combining public data and consistently using it for network expansion and maintenance
Detailed network data and spatial information from public authorities should be systematically combined and consistently used for planning, approval, and control, for instance, of traffic flows. Current IT security standards must be adhered to. It is necessary to vigorously advance standardisation efforts, for example, for uniform interfaces and/or data formats. These are the basis for more effective data-based planning and approval processes. These are a key to ensuring that network infrastructures can be built faster overall, that roads do not have to be torn up multiple times, and that synergies in the expansion of different networks can be utilised.
Background: For the planning and approval of infrastructure projects, a range of information is often needed, which is not always digitally available to the authorities. When data is digitally available, it is often within the so-called data silos of individual specialised authorities and is seldom technically linked across authorities. This leads to redundancies on one hand and duplicate effort on the other, resulting in inefficient planning and approval procedures that hinder network expansion.
Starting concrete planning of the distribution network level parallel to the development of the hydrogen core network
Currently, plans for the hydrogen core network are being developed so that the core infrastructure can be operational by 2032. However, this network, with a length of about 9,700 kilometres, is not sufficient to fully decarbonise the economy. Many companies, especially outside metropolitan areas and priority sectors, cannot electrify their process heat and must wait until they are connected to the hydrogen network to switch from natural gas and oil. Therefore, it is important to ensure planning security for smaller companies and involve them early in the planning of the future hydrogen distribution network. For this purpose, the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) organisation supports decision-makers (BNetzA and Coordinating Office) and provides data collected in the regions.
Background: Another amendment of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) provides for a new coordination office between transmission system operators, distribution system operators, and transport network operators to be established in 2024. This coordination office will be responsible for the development of the second network level (network development plans). The first draft of these network development plans is planned for 2025. Considering the length/necessary conversion of the distribution networks, this is too late.
