Company visit to Apus - Zero Emission GmbH in Strausberg
Aircraft contribute significantly to the climate crisis through their pollutant emissions. The shortage of fossil fuels due to the Ukraine crisis makes flying additionally problematic. A team of young aviation engineers led by founder and CEO, Philipp Scheffel, of Apus - Zero Emission GmbH wants to change that. The Strausberg-based company won the Brandenburg Future Prize in 2021. As early as next year, their zero-emission Apus i-2 aircraft is scheduled to take off powered by hydrogen. The new construction of a production hall at the Strausberg airfield is nearing completion.
.A personal impression of the status of the project made today Jochem Freyer, head of the East Brandenburg Employment Agency, Simona Koß (SPD), Member of the Bundestag for the constituency Märkisch-Oderland/Barnim South and Andreas Rimkus (SPD) Member of the Bundestag from Düsseldorf and hydrogen representative of the SPD parliamentary group.
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For Jochem Freyer, the company visit was trend-setting: "In addition to Tesla, East Brandenburg has other successful companies from the renewable energy spectrum to offer. APUS in Strausberg is a great hopeful in the field of aviation and hydrogen technology. It's a good example that high-tech can also be developed in the region. We must support the various players and technologies and, above all, promote their networking. This will promote the pull effect on other companies and improve our chances in competition with other regions. East Brandenburg has the potential for the jobs of the future."
Simona Koß pointed out the great development opportunities for start-ups around Strausberg: "Especially young companies with a large and foreseeable expansive space requirement for their developments will find ideal conditions in eastern Brandenburg. The proximity to the research scene in Berlin, the very good transport connections, the quickly accessible international airport BER and, of course, a high residential and leisure value as well as an excellent educational landscape also bring Märkisch-Oderland into the field of vision of international investors. APUS and other innovative companies are important pacesetters here. I am quite certain that the job market in our district is facing a golden future."
Andreas Rimkus: "Aviation is an important area for hydrogen technology. Hydrogen proves itself there as an energy carrier and storage. Hydrogen drives need a broad field of application in aeronautics. Innovative developments such as those from Apus Zero show that climate neutrality in aircraft construction is possible on a competitive basis. Brandenburg has the best prerequisites to become an application area for the future technology of hydrogen."