With a net, but what about safety?

Dear readers,

A few days before we took this issue to the printers, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action presented the federal government’s plans for the hydrogen core network. On the one hand, this is a more than overdue step. After all, hydrogen cannot be used across the board without the appropriate infrastructure. This also signals to the economy that the hydrogen path is to be taken. On the other hand, the answer to an almost more pressing question has been postponed: how is the supply of sufficient CO₂-neutral hydrogen available at economic prices to be ensured? The announcement that 50 - 70 per cent of the required hydrogen is to be imported implies the hope that others will take care of it. Uncertainty about the energy future will therefore continue to accompany us.

So it’s good that there will soon be an opportunity for consultation and dialogue at two of the most important industry events. Insights into the planning of ceramitec, which will take place from 9 to 12 April 2024 at the Messe München exhibition centre, can be found in the interview with project manager Maritta Lepp from page 6 onwards. Joachim Deppisch from LGA Bautechnik, who will be leading his last course, provides a look back at 25 years of the Würzburg Brick and Tile Training Course and an outlook in the interview from page 8 onwards.

If major transformations are still a long way off, incremental progress is what counts. The technical article by Zschimmer and Schwarz, which you can find on page 12, is a good example of this with its discussion of process additives to achieve efficiency gains. While you are waiting for the big transformation, I can also recommend the second technical article on page 24 of this issue. It opens up a historical panorama of the building boom in imperial Berlin and sheds light on the role of the travelling brick workers from Lippe. It is thanks to their years of hard labour far from home that the building materials for Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain were available.

Last but not least, you can find out about the presentations at the Eurosymposium in Meissen and the seminar at the Institute for Brick and Tile Research in Essen, as well as news from Hagemeister, Lingl and Händle, among others.

I wish you an entertaining and informative read.

Yours,

Victor Kapr