Seven companies join forces to create hydrogen network in Germany

Seven companies are planning to connect their hydrogen projects in north-west Germany in an effort to build a network that connects Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea coast as a future hydrogen import and production hub with the industrial demand centres in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.

Transmission system operators Thyssengas, Gasunie and Nowega, bp (LON:BP), steelmaker Salzgitter AG (ETR:SZG), oil distributor NWO and gas distributor Uniper SE (ETR:UN01) have signed a letter of intent to connect their projects which cover the entire hydrogen value chain, they said on Tuesday.

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While bp and Uniper are planning various projects in Wilhelmshaven to import or generate hydrogen, Gasunie, Nowega, NWO and Thyssengas will be working on the repurposing of existing transport lines and the construction of new hydrogen pipelines. As part of the initiative, hydrogen will be supplied to the sites of bp and Salzgitter in the Rhine-Ruhr region and in Salzgitter as well as to other companies in the Rhine-Ruhr region and in Lower Saxony.

The projects to be connected under the partnership include Uniper and bp's plan to set up an ammonia import terminal at the Wilhelmshaven site and Uniper's project to set up a large electrolysis plant in Wilhelmshaven which will use offshore wind power from the North Sea to produce green hydrogen.

BP Europa SE's chief executive Patrick Wendeler commented that bp supports the federal government's goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045. For this reason, the group will invest in the production, import and shared infrastructure for hydrogen in Germany - not only to supply its own production processes but also to cover the basic need for green hydrogen by mobility and industrial customers, Wendeler said.

Another key element is Thyssengas and Gasunie's plan to build a 400-km network for the transportation of hydrogen that will connect Germany's North Sea coast with the centres of demand in North Rhine-Westphalia in the south by 2028.

Infrastructure operators Nowega and NWO are also contributing parts of their existing pipeline network to the alliance. The conversion of the existing lines significantly reduces the need for the construction of new pipelines.