New management team appointed at VERBUND Green Hydrogen.

VERBUND plans to continue growing in the field of green hydrogen and has set the course for the further expansion of the hydrogen business with the founding of VERBUND Green Hydrogen GmbH in May 2023. Jost Friedrich Ahrens will now join the Managing Director Franz Helm, who has been in charge of operational management since April 2024.

Jost F. Ahrens LL.M. is a qualified lawyer and has more than 20 years of professional experience in the international energy industry. In numerous leadership positions, he successfully implemented projects focusing on the natural gas industry (storage/transport/marketing) and LNG (international supply chain and LNG regasification in Europe). As Senior Vice President Corporate Strategy at OMV, Jost F. Ahrens implemented numerous business development projects as well as accompanying M&A projects. Since 2021, he has been dedicated to building up the hydrogen business with a focus on imports and international partnerships at E.ON Hydrogen GmbH.

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Franz Helm has held management positions in the hydrogen business unit of VERBUND AG since 2022 and has already played a significant role in the development and implementation of the hydrogen strategy of Austria's leading energy company. Prior to that, he was responsible for WINGAS in Austria. He has held various management positions in the European energy industry for around 20 years and has outstanding experience in the areas of natural gas markets, marketing & sales, trading and business and market development.

Establishing VERBUND as a European hydrogen player is one of the three cornerstones of the VERBUND Mission V strategy. By developing a diversified project portfolio consisting of local projects for on-site hydrogen production and large-scale projects for the import of hydrogen, the short- and long-term demand for green hydrogen in European industrial locations will be met and a strong market position in the core markets of Austria, Germany and Spain will be established.

Dr Susanna Zapreva, Member of the Executive Board of VERBUND AG, on the appointment of the experienced dual leadership: ‘Our primary goal is to accompany our customers on their journey through the transformation and to ensure the competitiveness of our locations. With Jost Ahrens and Franz Helm, we have two proven experts with whom we can decisively shape the hydrogen economy in Europe and contribute to the success of our customers.