The energy service provider EWE is pushing ahead with the conversion of its gas storage site in the Wesermarsch for the storage of H₂. As part of the four-part large-scale project "Clean H₂ Coastline", EWE has commissioned NEUMAN & ESSER to supply two compressors. These compressors form a central component for future large-scale H₂ storage in a converted natural gas cavern. EWE wants to store H₂ in it from 2027. From then on, the green gas can be available when it is needed, not when it is produced. Large-scale H₂ storage thus improves the safe and flexible supply of future H₂ users.

The project is an important step towards integrating green H₂ technology into the existing energy infrastructure and a key project for the energy transition. In this way, EWE is making a significant contribution to security of supply and the ramp-up of a H₂ economy. "We are very pleased that we can make a decisive contribution to the development of the green H₂ economy in Germany by supplying the heart of the H₂ storage facility," said Jens Wulff, Managing Director of NEUMAN & ESSER Germany, "and that the funding commitments from the German government and the state of Lower Saxony last summer for the EWE 'Clean H₂ Coastline' project paved the way for strategically important projects like this one. The conclusion of the contract with EWE shows our determination to implement these major projects quickly."

EWE is converting one of seven underground natural gas caverns at its cavern site in Huntorf in the Wesermarsch to store H₂. The Huntorf project is part of the large-scale connecting project "Clean H₂ Coastline". This brings together the production, storage, transport and use of green H₂ and thus implements the political demands. EWE received the funding notices for the four-part large-scale project as part of the European IPCEI program (Important Project of Common European Interest) in the summer of 2024. EWE is currently in the detailed planning phase and intends to store and withdraw H₂ as early as the next two to three years.

The awarding of the compressors to NEUMAN & ESSER is a decisive milestone in the implementation of the project. The family-owned company was chosen for its extensive experience and technical expertise. The compressors play a central role in the storage and removal of H₂ from the cavern, ensuring maximum safety and efficiency.

EWE has provided proof that H₂ can be safely stored in salt caverns as part of a research project at its gas storage site in Rüdersdorf near Berlin. The company is now transferring the knowledge gained from the construction and operation of the 500 cubic meter test cavern to caverns with a volume of 1,000 times, such as in Huntorf in the Wesermarsch. "Our goal is to establish large-scale caverns for H₂ storage. With 37 salt caverns, EWE alone has more than 15 percent of all German cavern storage facilities that are suitable for storing H₂," said Peter Schmidt, Managing Director of EWE GASSPEICHER.

Despite the technological success, there are challenges at the regulatory level. According to Peter Schmidt, an important first step was already the identification of the enormous demand for cavern storage facilities, for example in the long-term scenarios of the Federal Ministry of Economics. "Political guardrails are now needed very quickly, especially in view of the long implementation times for the construction of the underground storage facilities. In order to be able to make investment decisions for further H₂ storage projects, a suitable regulatory framework and thus a bankable financing model are essential for us," said Peter Schmidt.

With the "Clean H₂ Coastline" project and the first large-scale H₂ storage facility in the Wesermarsch, EWE is strengthening the regional economy and securing the future viability of the energy supply. At the same time, the energy service provider is actively shaping the energy transition. "For us, H₂ is one of the core building blocks of the energy transition. It makes fluctuating renewables available at all times, because H₂ can be stored on a large scale. And where natural gas is currently stored underground, we also intend to store H₂ in the future," said Peter Schmidt. The company has decades of experience in the construction and operation of natural gas storage facilities. The construction and operation of H₂ caverns are technically comparable.