DÜSSELDORF (dpa-AFX) - The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia has agreed on 19 so-called anchor projects for the transformation of the Rhenish lignite mining region. These projects include 31 projects that have been selected by the state government with the involvement of the region, the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Tuesday. Several projects are directly related to the energy transition, which is imminent due to the early end of lignite-fired power generation. "We all agree that we need to move faster," explained Economics Minister Mona Neubaur (Greens).

Among other things, the town of Bedburg and the RWE Group want to produce green hydrogen in an industrial park using electricity from local wind farms. Renewable energies are to be massively expanded in a "gigawatt pact" in the region. In a Helmholtz hydrogen cluster in the district of Düren, the establishment of a sustainable hydrogen economy is to be accelerated through research.

The region is to become a "Sustainable Digital Region Rhineland" with several high-profile facilities. Among other things, the company Microsoft wants to build two "hyperscale data centers". There are also plans to build on existing economic sectors, for example with a model factory for sustainable paper production in Düren and a "Textile Factory 7.0" in Monchengladbach for more value creation and employment in the region.

The six largely abandoned villages at the Hambach and Garzweiler open-cast mines are to be transformed into villages of the future, symbolizing structural change. Many thousands of people will lose their jobs as a result of the lignite phase-out. The transformation in the region is being funded by the state and federal government to the tune of more than 14.8 billion euros. According to the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs, 178 projects with a funding volume of around 1.53 billion euros have been approved to date./uho/DP/men