Gascade has started filling hydrogen in the first section of its German pipeline network project, which aims to repurpose approximately 400km of infrastructure by 2025.
The Flow project, a 1,630km pipeline set to become part of Germany’s hydrogen core network, will repurpose a 1.4-metre-diameter former natural gas pipeline for hydrogen transport.
© Gascade
When fully operational, Gascade’s pipeline is said to have a capacity of up to 20GW. It will be able to transport energy produced offshore and onshore in Northern Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to Southern Germany.
“With this conversion, Gascade is not only demonstrating its technological expertise and innovative know-how but also sending a strong signal for the hydrogen economy,” Gascade’s Managing Director, Christoph von dem Bussche, said.
“We are proud to be starting the commissioning of the first large-scale hydrogen pipelines in Germany now. This provides planning certainty for the market ramp-up of the value chain worldwide.”
Last month, Germany’s SEFE secured a 200,000-tonne annual green hydrogen offtake deal with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power. As a wholly owned subsidiary of SEFE, Gascade will likely feed the hydrogen into its pipeline network.
Germany’s 9,000km hydrogen gamble: Will the Wasserstoff-Kernnetz pay off?
“We are creating security for everyone involved – from hydrogen producers at home and abroad to the operators of power plants and storage facilities and future industrial users.”
That was the message from German Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, when his government’s plans for a 9,040km ‘Wasserstoff-Kernnetz’ or hydrogen core network (HCN) were approved by the Federal Network Agency (BNetZA).
The HCN will cover the width of the country, resulting in a feed-in capacity of 101GW of hydrogen and a feed-out capacity of 87GW. Expected to complement the nation’s ambitious hydrogen production and import strategy, the network will connect import terminals to industrial hubs located throughout the country.
It’s a mammoth ambition. In many ways, enabled not only by the aspirations of the German Government, but also by EU regulations. The European Council which adopted the Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Markets Decarbonisation Package last May.
Under this European Union (EU) framework, the package covers transmission, storage and distribution, introducing a regulated third-party access regime in January 2033.
Hydrogen pipelines will be regulated according to the EU’s standard Regulated Asset Base model, allowing operators to secure a guaranteed return on investment in exchange for allowing third-party access to their infrastructure.
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