Our country has social as well as economic problems - naturally they are connected to some extent.
Once upon a time “Made in Germany” was a symbol for quality. This is over. Just think about the “VW-Diesel-Gate”.
The german submarine U212A is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell since some 20 years. Toyota sells the Mirai since some 6 years - powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.
And one of “the car nations” is not able/willing to develop/sell this technology. The reasons obviously are not technological reasons…
It will be the same as it went with computers, computer chips, smart phones and software. Name me a single big german company in these high technology areas (but SAP, which develops bureaucracy software, which is quiiiiite german:)…
We have an excellent education as well as a decent scientific environment, but business sucks :)
The reason is, that lawyers and alike earn thrice the money developers do. And by this we have “closed the ring” back to social stuff. Technology just is not appreciated here as well as those developing it are not.
This has slowly changed over the last decades and just few saw it.
Und ja, Ausgangspunkt hierfuer sind besagte “Atomkraft nein Danke” & Feministen & Co-s… Nicht alle Ideen und Ziele derer sind verkehrt, die Mittel aber m.E. schon :)