Energy company RWE and gas grid operator OGE have outlined a €3.5bn ($3.84bn) proposal to link northern Germany’s emerging green hydrogen supply base with industrial consumers in the west and the south of the country via a 1,500km pipeline network.

The proposals envisage the creation of a national hydrogen backbone that could meet 60pc of Germany’s expected hydrogen demand in 2030 by connecting electrolysers, storage sites and import projects on the northwest coast with offtakers along a corridor spanning key industrial regions.

OGE would install dedicated new hydrogen pipelines and convert some existing natural gas lines.

“RWE intends to set up and operate additional electrolysis capacities at locations near the coast in northwest Germany by 2030,” says the company’s CEO, Markus Krebber.

“The green hydrogen produced will then be transported from the north to where it is needed, for example to steel producers, chemical companies and refineries in the Ruhr area and southern Germany.”

1,500km – Length of proposed hydrogen pipeline network

Large industrial consumers, including steelmaker Thyssenkrupp, have signalled their interest in being connected to the new network.

RWE and OGE plan to discuss the proposals, called ‘H2ercules’, with the German government to secure supportive “framework conditions”, which they say they would need to advance the project.

The government doubled Germany’s target for electrolyser capacity shortly after taking office last year. Next month, it is expected to announce a package of measures designed to drive an acceleration of all renewables as part of its response to the energy security crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

New supply

RWE aims to deploy up to 1GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030. It also plans to build at least 2GW of hydrogen-ready gas-fired power capacity close to the proposed route of H2ercules and connect gas storage facilities to the new hydrogen network near the Dutch border.

The proposals also have a strong focus on hydrogen imports, which are expected to meet about half of Germany’s demand for the fuel in the coming decades.

The project would open up opportunities to connect Germany to key import routes—initially via pipeline from Belgium and the Netherlands, Norway and southern and eastern Europe.

Planned imports via hydrogen-ready LNG terminals in the northern Germany would also feed into the new network.

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Author: Stuart Penson