EnBW initially intends to invest around €1 B in establishing and expanding a national H₂ core network, which, according to the German government’s plans, is set to be built by 2032 and become a key component of a future European H₂ Backbone (EHB). The connection to the core network will especially supply H₂ to major industrial centers, power plants and generation facilities in the future, while transnational corridors for H₂ imports will also be opened.

“The H₂ core network represents the first step into the H₂ economy of the future, establishing the basis for the complete decarbonization of the German economy and the achievement of climate targets,” explained Dirk Güsewell, EnBW’s Board Member for System Critical Infrastructure. “EnBW welcomes and supports this groundbreaking project. This marks the beginning of another important chapter in the energy transition, in which our company will invest a total of around €40 B by 2030.”

As part of a joint application by the German transmission system operators, the EnBW subsidiary terranets bw and VNG/ONTRAS Gastransport have submitted concrete commitments for pipeline projects to the Federal Network Agency. However, the application still has to be approved by the Federal Network Agency. These pipelines, which are being created by converting existing pipelines, but also by building new connections, are set to connect Baden-Württemberg and large parts of eastern and central Germany to the H₂ core network.

“Establishing an efficient H₂ infrastructure will not happen overnight. It will be a gradual process, for both technical and economic reasons,” said Güsewell. “It will therefore be all the more important to offer effective investment incentives for rapid development and expansion right from the start. With the amortization account, the legislature has laid the foundations for compensating for the difference between the high investment costs and the initially low income from the network user charges. Other improvements to the financing framework that we demanded, however, such as a reduction in the deductible for the transmission system operators, have not been taken into account. We still see a need for improvement here.”

Specifically, EnBW has given an assurance through its subsidiary terranets bw that the south German natural gas pipeline (SEL), which is currently under construction, will be integrated into the H₂ core network. Upon completion, the SEL will supply consumers in Baden-Württemberg, initially with natural gas and later with H₂. These include the H₂-ready gas power plants (fuel switch) in Heilbronn, Altbach/Deizisau and Stuttgart-Münster. Using the SEL for the H₂ core network saves both time and money because it is already largely H₂-ready. Further potential projects are transport pipelines to Upper Swabia and Lake Constance as well as a cross-border connection from France to the Breisgau region.

The VNG subsidiary ONTRAS will build H₂ transport pipelines in central Germany, connecting the Leipzig region with the central German chemical triangle, the industrial centers in Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony, the Berlin region and the Meissen industrial arc. Other potential projects include the connection south of Berlin via Eisenhüttenstadt to Poland stretching as far as Lusatia, the section south of Rostock to Glasewitz and other connecting pipelines.

The Federal Network Agency is due to consult in the coming weeks on the core network application submitted by the transmission system operators. The H₂ transport infrastructure will gradually be developed further based on demand as part of the integrated gas/H₂ network development planning process.