(Hamburg) – The Hanseatic city of Hamburg sees itself as a “hub for hydrogen imports to Germany and Europe”. To support this claim, the Authority for Economic Affairs and Innovation developed a strategy and presented it in March. 
In it, the authors have drawn up nine “action points”, from needs analysis to funding options to certification of green hydrogen.
The federal government assumes that Germany's hydrogen demand will be around 2030 to 90 terawatt hours per year (TWh/a) by 110. If this demand were distributed among the individual federal states according to current energy consumption, Hamburg alone would account for four TWh/a, according to the city's concept. In addition, there is demand for northern Germany, which could also be handled via the port of Hamburg.
Hydrogen requirements cannot be covered by our own production
Hamburg's largest industrial companies, which currently consume around a third of Hamburg's total natural gas requirements, even assumed a need for green hydrogen of around 2030 TWh/a by 7,6. Of this, 5,7 TWh/a were for industrial applications and 1,9 TWh/a for the mobility sector traffic flows directly linked to goods handling in the port. In addition, “the Hamburg metropolitan region with its over five million inhabitants will also develop a need for hydrogen in the future.”
Therefore, some smaller electrolysers are already in operation in the city and larger systems (e.g Moorburg) is being planned, so that the economic authority expects a green electrolysis output of around 2030 megawatts and thus a hydrogen production capacity of around 550 TWh/a by 2,2.
However, “the difference between demand and production capacities cannot be covered regionally and nationally, even with increased expansion of both renewable energies as a source of electricity and production capacities for green hydrogen.” Germany is therefore dependent on imports.
Hamburg as a key for hydrogen imports
The Authority for Economic Affairs and Innovation, responsible for port management and industry, is pursuing the goal of importing a large part of the hydrogen required via Hamburg in the future. Land-based pipelines played a major role in this, as these “are expected to be able to cover a large portion of Germany's hydrogen needs in the medium term.” At the same time, concepts for seaborne imports would have to be developed.
For the Hanseatic city, the expected significant hydrogen transshipment volumes would offer “an excellent opportunity to ensure that the Port of Hamburg remains one of the world's leading locations and one of the main pillars of the city's economic development in the future.” This requires the expansion into a green hydrogen hub for Germany and Europe “in the coming years”.
War against Ukraine accelerates the plans
The Russian war against Ukraine makes the import strategy “more important than ever,” Hamburg’s Economics Senator Michael Westhagemann (non-party) recently told “Norddeutscher Rundfunk”: “The starting situation couldn’t be better for such a ramp-up, although the war is of course cruel. But he speeds up.”
Four port terminals should be in place by 2030, and the possible locations are still being examined, according to NDR. Because of the risk of explosion, you need a lot of distance. One large system instead of four smaller systems is therefore ruled out. A hydrogen pipeline from Denmark should also end in the port.
The strategy paper “Green Hydrogen Hub Europe: Hamburg as a hub for hydrogen imports to Germany and Europe” is available free of charge as a PDF (51 pages).
Photos
Hamburg wants to become the gateway for hydrogen (Image: Hamburg Cruise Days 2017). © Hamburg Tourismus GmbH/Christian Lietzmann
