Saxony and the Czech Republic agree on closer cooperation in industry and energy

The Czech Republic and Saxony want to work more together to promote their interests as industrial locations. This is the result of a meeting between Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer and Czech Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlicek in Prague. Both politicians highlighted the negative impact of the increased electricity prices and agreed to work for quick solutions at the European level, as a spokeswoman for Kretschmer subsequently announced. These included, for example, adjustments to the European emissions trading system.

Both sides committed to the plan to build a new Erzgebirge tunnel as part of the planned Prague-Dresden-Berlin high-speed line. “I believe this is a generational project and it is a clear confession of how important the Czech Republic is for us in Germany,” said Kretschmer (CDU) in Prague.

Another topic was closer networking of the semiconductor industries in the Czech Republic and Saxony. Concrete points of connection exist in automotive chips, vehicle software, batteries, new materials and the circular economy, it said.

From lithium to hydrogen

The politicians discussed a common European strategy in the area of lithium extraction. Around three percent of the world's lithium reserves are said to be located in the Erzgebirge. It was also about future technologies such as mini-nuclear power plants and hydrogen, which is considered a promising new energy source. The background is the plans for a more than 700 kilometer long hydrogen pipeline between the Czech Republic and Germany.

The meeting with Havlicek was just one of many points on the program of Kretschmer's two-day trip to Prague. He took part in a reception for German Unity Day at the German embassy alongside Czech President Petr Pavel. There, in September 1989, the then Federal Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher gave the message to thousands of GDR refugees that they were allowed to leave the country. At the end of the trip, a meeting was planned with the President of the neighboring region of Usti nad Labem (Aussig an der Elbe), Richard Brabec.