Day Four (afternoon):

We traveled to Dusseldorf in the afternoon for a bioenergy roundtable. It was an impressive panel featuring the German State Secretary for Federal, European and Foreign Affairs of the state of North Rheine, Matthew Boyse, the US Consulate General, several key German cabinet members and representatives from key biodiesel companies, including Cargill. Gov. Daniels, representatives from the Indiana Department of Agriculture and several delegates also participated. We discussed issues relating to bio-diesel development in Germany. Our delegates talked about BioTown USA, located in Reynolds, Indiana in White County.

Germany has a very similar initiative to BioTown called Unda. It has been in existence for about a year. The idea is to create a fully sustainable town that derives its energy needs from renewable resources such as animal waste, crops etc.

We learned that Germany has the same kinds of issues with respect to renewable resources -- the use of food vs. fuel, for example. One significant difference between the US and Germany is that the European Union dictates set levels of production of bio energy fuels. It is mandatory in Germany vs. the United States, which is voluntary. This creates quicker compliance but very little legislative power for countries to define what they can do with respect to energy production.

We also talked about biomass, feed and fuel vs. energy. We discussed the conflicts between these two groups and the challenges associated with balancing these frequently competing interests.

Dusseldorf is in the process of creating a combined heat and power plant. Traditional power plants create about a 40 percent efficiency. A combined heat and power plant, however, creates a 90 percent efficiency rate. Both countries agreed price and costs are key motivators to incent behavior and increase profitability so companies will want to invest in biofuel initiatives.

Finally we talked about the areas of synergy between our two countries including life sciences, advanced manufacturing and agriculture.

In the evening we attended a "Friends of Indiana" reception. There were approximately 150 dignitaries in attendance including top officials from the Dusseldorf area and clients and friends of the various delegates and Indiana companies. There was a discussion about how important Indiana is and how important it is for Germany and Indiana to develop closer ties. Dusseldorf has a sister-state relationship with Pennsylvania but the officials are very interested in expanding their relationships in the United States and, in particular, in Indiana.

Dusseldorf is the economic center of Western Germany. It dates back to 1135 and is located on the river Rhine. It hosts a thriving advertising and fashion industry and several high-end clothing stores. Many Internet companies also have their roots in Dusseldorf. Seventeen percent of the Dusseldorf population are immigrants and it has the third largest Jewish population in Germany. It is home to the third largest commercial airport.

People generalize in the practice of law, which is somewhat different from the United States. The law firms also tend to be much smaller.

There are approximately 640 US companies with offices in Germany. About 170,000 US citizens work in Germany, a majority for Ford Motor Company.