(Wilhelmshaven) – Seven companies have joined forces to transport hydrogen from the German North Sea coast to industrial consumption centers in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony using a network of existing and new pipelines. The starting point is the deep-sea port in Wilhelmshaven as the future location for production and imports. Companies with a need for hydrogen are to be connected from there via a north-south corridor to the Cologne chemical region and via a west-east corridor to Salzgitter.
Project planning along the H2 value chain
With their German branches, the seven companies cover the areas of raw material production, storage, transport and marketing as well as local crude steel production. They participate in the alliance with various projects.
Planned route of lines (detail): A new alliance of corporations connects industrial centers in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Supporters include Salzgitter AG, Etzel (cavern storage), Bremen (steel), Lingen (hydrogen power plant), Duisburg (steel) and Cologne (chemicals) © Salzgitter AG
The mineral oil company BP Europa SE and Uniper Hydrogen GmbH, as industrial producers and consumers of hydrogen, each intend to build an import terminal at the Wilhelmshaven site. As part of the project would BP The company said in January that it would build an ammonia cracker that could provide up to 2028 tons of the green ammonia energy source annually from 130.000.
Planned projects for hydrogen production and import in Wilhelmshaven as well as their connection to the hydrogen pipeline network. © Salzgitter AG
Ammonia enables the “efficient transport of low-carbon hydrogen by ship over longer distances”. BP is currently building a number of hydrogen and ammonia export sites in the Middle East, Africa and Australia, said Felipe Arbelaez, senior vice president of hydrogen and CCS, a few months ago. “These could cover part of European demand in the coming years.”
In addition, Uniper is planning to build a large electrolysis facility in Wilhelmshaven, which will produce green hydrogen using offshore wind power from the North Sea. Both BP and Uniper have applied for funding from the European Commission for their projects. The decision on this is expected this year.
From the coast to Cologne
The two natural gas transmission system operators Gasunie Energy Development GmbH and Thyssengas GmbH plan to transport the hydrogen from Wilhelmshaven to the Cologne chemical region. The approximately 400 kilometer long connection is to be built by 2028 by converting existing lines and supplementing new buildings. Both Gasunie and Thyssengas are also hoping for funding from the European Commission for their respective sections.
In 2030, GET H2, Salcos and Green Octopus are to be interwoven and connected to the additional network now presented. © GET H2
Through a connection to the “Hyperlink” hydrogen network already planned by Gasunie, which connects Denmark and the Netherlands via northern Germany, as well as the sub-projects of the “GET H2” hydrogen initiative for which the transmission system operator Nowega GmbH and Thyssengas are responsible, the planned north-south corridor contributes significantly to the development an integrated hydrogen network. This would reach both the BP refineries in the Emsland and Ruhr area and other potential H2 consumers along the route.
As part of the joint project “GET H2As reported, another consortium from industry and science wants to collect “important findings on the transport and storage of hydrogen” through a test pipeline. The project is supported by the Federal Ministry of Research with more than eleven million euros and started in January 2022.
In addition to the BP refinery in Lingen (Emsland), the future hydrogen power plant planned by RWE in Lingen is also included. The next “GET H2” step is the inclusion of the Netherlands. The connection to the Vlieghuis import point is implemented by Thyssengas. This in turn will create a connection to “Green Octopus” – a European project that will one day link Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France via a hydrogen network.
Connection of the steel group in Salzgitter
The west-east corridor is ultimately intended to connect Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH in Lower Saxony, a subsidiary of Salzgitter AG. The steel company is currently converting its blast furnaces from firing coke to hydrogen and recently received funding for the project called “Salcos”. Funding from the federal and state governments amounting to almost one billion euros.
For this network, Nowega and Nord-West-Oelleitung GmbH (NWO) are bringing parts of their existing pipeline network into the alliance. According to the information, the conversion of the existing lines will significantly reduce the need for new construction and will enable additional hydrogen feeders and buyers to be reached on a large scale.
Politics should create investment security
Thomas Gößmann, Chairman of the Thyssengas Management Board: “The result is that a central element of the future hydrogen market in northwest Germany will be created by 2028.” However, “a regulatory framework that creates planning and investment security and which politicians must now deliver in a timely manner is still missing “.
Germany wants to build a production capacity of ten gigawatts of green hydrogen from solar and wind energy by 2030 and import large quantities from overseas to support industries, especially in the steel or cement segments, in replacing millions of tons of gray hydrogen with green hydrogen.
Photos
NWO mineral oil tank farm and tanker fire bridge in Wilhelmshaven. © Nord-West Oelleitung GmbH
