The TÜV Association expects the future German government to make additional efforts in climate protection. "The Corona pandemic is currently overshadowing the most important challenges of our time: sustainability and climate protection," said Dr Dirk Stenkamp, President of the TÜV Association. "In the upcoming legislative period, these issues must be at the centre of government action." The Climate Protection Act, which has been in force for a year, is a good start. "It is now essential to implement the climate protection programme quickly and to supplement it in a useful way," said Stenkamp. Such measures should already be reflected in the election programmes of the political parties. Especially in the energy sector, it is necessary to define concrete requirements for sustainability and safety and to ensure compliance by independent audits. This applies, for example, to the production, transport and storage of hydrogen. "Hydrogen will play an increasingly important role as an energy source," said Stenkamp. However, there is still a need of standards for sustainability in the value chain of hydrogen and its downstream products. Stenkamp: "Independent audits can prove compliance with environmental criteria and thus strengthen trust in hydrogen as an energy source."
Batteries are also gaining importance in many areas of the economy and private life in the course of the energy transition. During production, numerous scarce raw materials are processed, some of which are extracted under challenging conditions."The ecological and social footprint of batteries must be as small as possible. Only in this way can they make an effective contribution to the energy transition," said Stenkamp. Independent testing could ensure that the requirements are met throughout the entire life cycle.