This archive collects solutions-journalism stories and milestones from Germany — covering advances in renewable energy, public health, social policy, science, and more. Each entry highlights real progress reported from or about the country.
Volkswagen’s strategy chief, Michael Jost, told attendees at the Handelsblatt automotive summit conference on Tuesday that the company will launch its last generation of gas-powered cars in 2026.
Hydrogen-powered trains moved from concept to reality when two passenger trains began quietly serving real commuters across rural northern Germany — on routes too sparse to justify overhead electric lines, where diesel had been the only option. The trains emit nothing but steam and water, matching diesel on practicality, and other countries quickly began exploring the technology after seeing it work in the real world. The bigger challenge ahead is cost: green hydrogen remains significantly more expensive than diesel at scale, and the supply infrastructure is still maturing.
Porsche has stopped production of cars with diesel engines, according to Autocar. The UK-based automotive publication reported Tuesday all models equipped with diesel engines have been dropped following an emissions compliance issue for European markets.
German workers won a key victory in their fight for a better work-life balance when a big employers’ group agreed to demands from the country’s largest trade union for the introduction of a 28-hour working week.
Last year, Germany passed a sweeping anti-hate speech law requiring websites to promptly investigate reports of posts illegal under German law and delete them.
Lawmakers in Germany voted on Friday to allow same-sex marriage after a brisk but emotional debate in Parliament, setting the stage for the country to join more than a dozen European nations including Ireland, France and Spain in legalizing such unions.
Germany breaks a daily record for renewable energy, generating 85% of its power from renewable sources on April 30.
Showcasing the power of human collaboration at an international level, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands hope to work together to build an Island Hub to help harness offshore wind power.
The Coradia iLint rolled into Berlin’s InnoTrans rail expo in 2016, looking ordinary except for one detail: its exhaust was water vapor. Six years later, fourteen of these hydrogen-powered trains entered regular service in Lower Saxony, Germany, replacing diesel on a regional line. It was the first working proof that zero-emissions rail could reach beyond electrified tracks.
Wind-hydro turbines are rising in Germany’s Swabian-Franconian forest, where four towers double as gravity batteries by pumping water up inside themselves when the wind blows and releasing it downhill when it stops. At 809 feet, they’re the world’s tallest, and they hint at a cleaner way to solve wind power’s oldest problem: timing.
