Hydrogen for SMEs: Project in Sauerland (Germany) Gains Momentum

 

ARNSBERG. The Hydronet hydrogen project in the Sauerland region is gaining momentum. Project participants at a conference in Arnsberg were convinced that it is a "blueprint for the hydrogen ramp-up in Germany."

Hydronet was launched in the fall of 2024 and is intended to demonstrate how a regional hydrogen economy can function, encompassing production, transport, storage, and application. The focus is on hydrogen use by SMEs, which have previously used natural gas as an energy source. Hydrogen is expected to be used in sectors such as automotive supply, paper production, metal processing, and mobility.

 

The project is "groundbreaking" and demonstrates "how we can successfully combine climate protection and competitiveness in the long term," said CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz, according to a statement. The five-year project is located in the politician's constituency.

 

An eleven-kilometer-long former natural gas pipeline between Arnsberg and Balve will form the backbone of the Hydronet network. The pipeline is now being prepared for the transport of climate-neutrally produced hydrogen. In the long term, the network is to be connected to the German and European hydrogen pipeline network.

 

Two hydrogen production processes are planned within the Hydronet project.

 

First, water will be split into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis using electricity from wind and solar power. The resulting hydrogen is also called "green."

 

A process called plasmalysis, in which hydrogen is extracted from methane, is also being tested. Solid carbon is produced as a byproduct. Hydrogen produced in this way is called "turquoise."

 

The first hydrogen is expected to flow through the former natural gas pipeline in three years.

 

The total cost of the project, which has been planned since 2014, is €75 million. The consortium leader is the energy company Westnetz, which is part of the E.ON subsidiary Westenergie. Westnetz alone intends to invest €29 million. €18 million in funding will come from the federal government. In addition to companies, several universities and research institutions are also involved in the project." [1]

 

1.  Wasserstoff für den Mittelstand: Projekt im Sauerland nimmt Fahrt auf. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 02 Apr 2025: 20.

 

Kripto vis labiau veržiasi į bankų sistemą.

“Reguliuojamasis susidorojimas su kripto, žlugus FTX ir dviem kripto palankiems bankams, paskatino kai kuriuos tradicinius finansus prieš dvejus metus atsiskirti nuo šios pramonės šakos. Dabar prezidento Trumpo pažadas paversti Ameriką „bitkoinų supervalstybe“ padėjo kripto labiau susieti su bankų sistema.

 

Pasak žmonių, susipažinusių su šiuo klausimu, kelios kripto įmonės, įskaitant „Circle“ ir „BitGo“, planuoja kreiptis dėl banko chartijų ar licencijų. Kripto birža „Coinbase Global“ ir „Stablecoin“ bendrovė „Paxos“ svarsto panašius veiksmus, sakė kiti žmonės.

 

Taip atsitinka, kai Trumpo administracija ketina įtraukti kriptovaliutas į pagrindinius finansus, o Kongresas pateikia porą įstatymų projektų, kurie sukurtų stabiliųjų monetų reguliavimo sistemą, leidžiančią žmonėms lengvai prekiauti nepastoviomis kriptovaliutomis ir iš jų. Teisės aktuose būtų reikalaujama, kad stabilių monetų leidėjai turėtų chartijas arba licencijas iš reguliavimo institucijų.

 

Kai kurios kriptovaliutų įmonės domisi nacionalinio pasitikėjimo ar pramoninių bankų chartijomis, kurios leistų joms veikti kaip tradiciniams skolintojams, pavyzdžiui, imti indėlius ir skolinti. Kitos siekia palyginti siaurų licencijų, kurios leistų leisti stabilią monetą.

 

„World Liberty Financial“, Trumpų šeimos kriptovaliutų projektas, praėjusį mėnesį pristatė planus išleisti stabilią monetą USD1. Jame teigiama, kad stabilios monetos atsargas saugos kriptovaliutų saugotojas BitGo, kuris artėja prie paraiškos dėl banko chartijos pateikimo, sakė su šiuo klausimu susipažinę žmonės.

 

Bet kuriai kriptovaliutų įmonei, gavusiai banko chartiją, būtų taikoma griežtesnė reguliavimo priežiūra.

 

„Anchorage Digital“, kol kas vienintelė kriptovaliutų įmonė šalyje, turinti federalinio banko chartiją, teigė, kad išleido dešimtis milijonų dolerių, kad laikytųsi taisyklių.

 

2022 m. banko reguliavimo institucija išdavė sutikimą Anchorage, nurodydama kovos su pinigų plovimu trūkumus.

 

„Tai nebuvo lengva“, – sakė 2021 m. įstatus gavusios Anchorage generalinis direktorius Nathanas McCauley. Tačiau jis teigė, kad „visa bankų reguliavimo ir atitikties įpareigojimų gama gali būti susieta su kriptovaliutų pramone“.

 

Šiais metais San Franciske įsikūrusi bendrovė kartu su Coinbase tapo BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust saugotoja. Anchorage taip pat prisijungė prie Cantor Fitzgerald kartu su kriptovaliutų saugotoju Copper'u, kad gautų įmonės 2 milijardų dolerių bitkoinais paremtą skolinimo programą. Tether yra pagrindinis „Cantor“ klientas, kuriam anksčiau vadovavo prekybos sekretorius Howardas Lutnickas.

 

Stabilios monetos yra susietos su doleriu ar kitomis vyriausybės išleistomis valiutomis, o atsargas saugo grynaisiais arba į grynuosius pinigus panašų turtą, pvz., iždo obligacijas, kad būtų išlaikytas santykis 1:1. „Tether“ yra didžiausia stabili moneta, kurios rinkos riba yra 145 mlrd. dolerių, o „Circle's USD Coin“ yra antra pagal dydį, turinti maždaug 61 mlrd. dolerių žetonų apyvartoje.

 

Vos prieš kelerius metus, po FTX žlugimo, pagrindiniai bankai nutraukė ryšius su kriptovaliutų įmonėmis. Po „Silvergate Capital“ ir „Signature Bank“ žlugimo daugelis pramonės įkūrėjų sunkiai stengėsi rasti naujų bankų, kurie imtų jų indėlius arba jiems paskolintų.

 

Trumpui grįžus į Baltuosius rūmus, reguliuotojai panaikino taisykles, reikalaujančias, kad bankai gautų leidimą užsiimti kripto. Kitų nurodymų, kaip bankai gali naudotis kripto, tikimasi vėliau šiais metais, sakė su šiuo klausimu susipažinęs asmuo.

 

Tuo tarpu kai kurie bankai siekia pasivyti ir užmegzti ryšius su pramone.

 

Vasario mėnesį Bank of America generalinis direktorius Brianas Moynihanas pareiškė, kad jo bankas išleis savo stabilią monetą, jei bus sukurta tam skirta teisinė bazė. „US Bancorp“ šį mėnesį paskelbė, kad atnaujins savo kriptovaliutų saugojimo paslaugą bendradarbiaudama su bitkoinų prekybos ir bankininkystės įmone NYDIG.

 

Atskirai bankų konsorciumas, kurį sudaro „Deutsche Bank“ ir „Standard Chartered“, pradėjo nagrinėti, kaip išplėsti kriptovaliutų operacijas į JAV, pasak su šiuo klausimu susipažinusio asmens. „Deutsche Bank“ atstovas atsisakė komentuoti. „Standard Chartered“ neatsakė į prašymą pakomentuoti.“ [1]

 

1.  Crypto Knocks on Banking's Door --- Circle, BitGo and others plan to apply for mainstream charters or licenses. Heeb, Gina; Vicky Ge Huang.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 22 Apr 2025: B1.

Crypto Knocks on Banking's Door --- Circle, BitGo and others plan to apply for mainstream charters or licenses

"Crypto is pushing deeper into the banking system.

A regulatory crackdown on crypto in the wake of the meltdown of FTX and two crypto-friendly banks prompted some in traditional finance to break up with the industry two years ago. Now President Trump's pledge to make America a "bitcoin superpower" has set the stage for crypto to become more intertwined with the banking system.

Several crypto firms including Circle and BitGo plan to apply for bank charters or licenses, according to people familiar with the matter. Crypto exchange Coinbase Global and stablecoin company Paxos are considering similar moves, other people said.

That comes as the Trump administration moves to incorporate crypto into mainstream finance and Congress advances a pair of bills that would establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, which let people easily trade in and out of more volatile cryptocurrencies. The legislation would require stablecoin issuers to have charters or licenses from regulators.

Some crypto firms are interested in national trust or industrial bank charters that would enable them to operate more like traditional lenders, such as by taking deposits and making loans. Others are after relatively narrow licenses that would allow them to issue a stablecoin.

World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's crypto project, unveiled plans to launch a stablecoin called USD1 last month. It said the stablecoin's reserves would be safeguarded by crypto custodian BitGo, which is getting close to submitting the bank- charter application, people familiar with the matter said.

Any crypto firm that obtains a bank charter would become subject to stricter regulatory oversight.

Anchorage Digital, so far the only crypto firm in the country with a federal bank charter, said it spent tens of millions of dollars to comply with regulations.

In 2022, a bank regulator issued a consent order against Anchorage, pointing to anti-money-laundering deficiencies.

"It has not been easy," said Nathan McCauley, chief executive officer of Anchorage, which obtained its charter in 2021. But he said the "whole gamut of regulatory and compliance obligations that banks have can be intertwined with the crypto industry."

The San Francisco-based company this year became a custodian for BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust alongside Coinbase. Anchorage also joined with Cantor Fitzgerald along with crypto custodian Copper for the firm's $2 billion bitcoin-backed lending program. Tether is a major client of Cantor, which was previously headed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Stablecoins are pegged to the dollar or other government-issued currencies and store reserves in cash or cash-like assets such as Treasurys to keep a 1-to-1 ratio in value in place. Tether is the largest stablecoin, with a $145 billion market cap, and Circle's USD Coin is the second largest, with roughly $61 billion of tokens in circulation.

Just a few years ago, major banks cut ties with the crypto firms after a regulatory crackdown on the industry following FTX's collapse. After the downfall of Silvergate Capital and Signature Bank, many founders in the industry struggled to find new banks that would take their deposits or lend to them.

After Trump returned to the White House, regulators rolled back rules requiring banks to get approval to engage in crypto activities. Further guidance for how banks can engage with crypto is expected later this year, a person familiar with the matter said.

Meanwhile, some banks are looking to play catch-up and forge ties with the industry.

In February, Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said his bank would issue its own stablecoin if a legal framework for doing so is established. U.S. Bancorp said this month it would relaunch its crypto custody service through a partnership with NYDIG, a bitcoin trading and banking firm.

Separately, a consortium of banks, which includes Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered, has started to examine how to expand crypto operations to the U.S., according to a person familiar with the matter. A spokesman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Standard Chartered didn't respond to a request for comment." [1]

1.  Crypto Knocks on Banking's Door --- Circle, BitGo and others plan to apply for mainstream charters or licenses. Heeb, Gina; Vicky Ge Huang.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 22 Apr 2025: B1.