Energy transition can only succeed with foreign and economic policy - SPD member of the Bundestag Dr. Daniela De Ridder visits the company Bentec in Bad Bentheim

 

Bad Bentheim/ Grafschaft Bentheim - Dr. Daniela De Ridder visited the company Bentec together with Erhard Kreth from the SPD local association Bad Bentheim. For the deputy chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and vice-president of the OSCE-PV, the focus of the discussion was above all on the company's expertise in the energy industry and Bentec's international activities in Oman and Russia. In July of this year, a new business unit "Kenera," was created to expand the company’s offering in both the hydrocarbons and energy transition markets.

"The company Bentec already performs an internationally significant activity with its expertise and the production of drilling rigs, equipment and energy self-sufficient production facilities. This knowledge makes it the company from Bentheim now also in the field of the energy transition usable. I am proud that in our region, with the production and research of hydrogen development, wind turbines and battery storage systems, such a future-oriented company is using innovative technologies. As Vice Chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and a local Member of Parliament, I am happy to combine and network my international and regional contacts to support Bentec in the development of its entrepreneurial hydrogen technology. For me it has always been true that foreign policy is also economic policy," emphasizes Dr. Daniela De Ridder, SPD member of the Bundestag for the constituency of Mittelems.

De Ridder informed herself about the technology and further development of the company in a conversation with Managing Director Thorsten Dirks, Head of the Research and Development Department Jan Aalderink and Gerald Große Bardenhorst. She is already aware from previous visits of its enormous importance for innovation and job security in the county. Dirks and Aalderink, together with Große Bardenhorst, reported on the new Kenera business unit, which consolidates and leverages the skills, competencies and experience of the Bentec and RDS businesses. Since the company was founded 130 years ago, Bentec has been regarded as a guarantor for the production of operating equipment from a single source. In both research and development, the company is facing the new challenges of a successful energy mix to meet the challenges of climate change.

"I was particularly impressed by the descriptions of a model project in the county of Bentheim that is likely to lead the way. Not only can cooperation with in-company qualification and universities - very much in Oman, too, with which I have built up close ties as an education expert and foreign policy expert - strengthen innovative production, but Bentec is also currently supporting a feasibility study on decarbonization in Bad Bentheim for a sustainable municipality fit for the future. I see this development towards a self-sufficient municipality under the motto Smarter Cities as a great opportunity for our entire region. What's more, it is precisely the international linkage that gives this project its global value and possibly also a worldwide impact. With new partnerships, the know-how and future potentials will interact far beyond our region. Bentec and, in the future, Kenera will, I am convinced, demonstrate what we in politics call successful sector coupling with new charging points for electromobility, hydrogen production and waste heat as interlocking technologies. This should also make it possible for all citizens to experience the direct benefits of renewable energies; I consider this to be one of the essential prerequisites for acceptance among the population for a successful energy transition," emphasizes De Ridder.