(Kassel/Hanover/Essen/Hamburg) – The transmission system operators Gascade and Gasunie as well as the energy companies RWE and Shell are planning to build a pipeline in the North Sea as part of a project called “AquaDuctus” to transport hydrogen directly to the continent. The initiative aims to install an electrolysis capacity of 10.000 megawatts for the production of green hydrogen from offshore wind energy between Heligoland and the Dogger sandbank. In sub-projects, “demand, production and transport of hydrogen are to be synchronized in order to enable a rapid market upswing,” said RWE.
One million tons of hydrogen per year
Once construction of the generation facilities is complete, AquaDuctus would transport up to one million tons of green hydrogen annually starting in 2035. According to the consortium, the pipeline offers “clear economic advantages” compared to transporting offshore wind power via power lines. It replaces five high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems that would otherwise have to be built. It is “by far the most cost-effective option for transporting large amounts of energy over distances of more than 400 kilometers,” said RWE.
The first step in the AquaDuctus project is to conduct a detailed feasibility study. It has been submitted to the IPCEI process (Important Project of Common European Interest) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Gasunie, RWE and Shell are already working together in the Netherlands on the “NorthH2“Project with the aim of developing a green hydrogen center for northwest Europe in the north of the Netherlands. A generation capacity of four gigawatts is to be created by 2030.
deep link
https://www.group.rwe/en/press/rwe-renewables/2021-04-26-aquaductus-pipeline-for-green-hydrogen-gascade-gasunie-rwe-shell
https://www.aquaventus.org
Artwork
The AquaDuctus consortium is planning to build a hydrogen pipeline in the North Sea / © RWE
