ANDREAS WALSTAD, European Correspondent

Germany has launched ambitious plans for a 5,617-mi. (9,040-km) hydrogen (H₂) pipeline network that could be completed in 2032 for $20 B if everything goes to plan. Once completed, the network will have the potential to transport 278 terawatt hours (TWh) of low and zero-carbon H₂, which could help to decarbonize Germany’s industrial sector.

About 60% of the H₂ network will be repurposed gas pipelines, according to plans, while the remainder will be new H₂ pipelines. Fifteen transmission system operators (TSOs) and 10 distribution system operators (DSOs) are involved in developing the network. One of the developers is ONTRAS, which operates the gas grid in eastern Germany.

As a first step, ONTRAS will develop a 372-mi. (600-km) H₂ network, of which 80% will be conversions of existing gas pipelines. A final investment decision (FID) for this section of the network has already been taken. Initially, ONTRAS will connect the Leipzig region with what is known as the central German chemical triangle, the industrial centers in Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony, the Berlin area and the Meissen industrial arc.

Work is already underway on a pilot known as the Energiepark Bad Lauchstädt project in the state of Saxony-Anhalt which is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. The pilot involves a 16-mi. (25-km) gas pipeline, which ONTRAS is converting to transport green H₂. The H₂ will be produced by a 30-MW electrolysis plant using electricity produced by a wind farm.

Christian Decker, who is part of the technical asset management at ONTRAS, told our sister publication, P&GJ that the project is progressing according to plans and the pilot pipeline will soon be filled with H₂.

“In the project Energiepark Bad Lauchstädt we are talking about a high-pressure gas pipeline with a diameter of 19.5 in. (500 millimeters), which was built back in the 1970s. It is a steel pipe with a gas pressure up to 55 bar. For conversion to H₂ transport, we will lower the pressure to 40 bar. We are now finished with all the technical measures,” he said.

Decker said the gas pipelines will be converted on a case-by-case basis depending on their age and characteristics.

"Our grid was mostly built during the German Democratic Republic (GDR) era. Our oldest pipeline is from the 1930s, but the main part was built in the 1960s and 1970s, Decker added. “And, of course, the pipelines have different conditions. The pipelines built in the 1990s are generally better than the ones built in the 1960s and 1970s so every pipeline we plan to convert is a separate case. But the steps we are doing are all the same—the pipelines will be completely overhauled and will then be able to transport H₂ for at least 20 yr−25 yr, in all likelihood."

TESTING COMPLETE

Decker added that every pipeline the company plans to convert in the next 7 yr−8 yr have completed the documentation review process together with an official certified technical expert, and for these pipelines, ONTRAS has finished all the testing.

“The plan is to fill the 25-km (pilot) with H₂ at the end of the first quarter of 2025. The other pipelines are currently in the realization stages.”

Blending H₂ with natural gas is not currently being considered because, partly at least, blending does not make commercial sense as one would lose track of the expensive H₂ content. Instead, ONTRAS will separate the H₂ grid from the existing natural gas grid, so entire sections will have to be cut off. In other words, they will be completely separate grids; one for 100% natural gas transport and the other one for 100% H₂.

“In general it is more or less irrelevant to the pipeline if the share of H₂ is 10%, 50% or 100%─our grid can transport a mixture. When we used town gas in the past, the share of H₂ was up to 50%−60%, so our pipelines are capable of handling a blend. Nonetheless, blending H₂ and natural gas is not something we are planning to do. We will go for 100% H₂ and 100% natural gas in the separated grids,” said Decker.

The H₂ debate among researchers and policymakers is generally quite heated and prone to controversies. To this end, pilot projects are very welcome to test for challenges such as leakage, Hannah Lentschig, a Research Fellow with the Clingendael Institute in the Hague, told P&GJ.

“I think one problem is that feasibility studies on how to safely repurpose gas pipelines for H₂ are largely based on computer simulation,” said Lentschig. “There is a need for commissioning and operating pilot projects on the ground to measure, for example, the permeability of materials to ensure that leakage is minimized. H₂ leakage is a major safety concern due to the flammability of air-H₂ mixtures, and its safe handling has different requirements than gas transports due to H₂’s distinct chemical properties. This safety perspective is currently also the main concern for operators.”

STRANDED ASSETS

Another pressing issue is whether there will be enough renewable and low-carbon H₂ available on the market to fill the pipelines once they are completed. H₂ production from renewable electricity (green) and natural gas with carbon capture and storage (blue) is lagging expectations with many projects cancelled or delayed.

The EU’s goal to produce 10 MMtpy of H₂ by 2030 seems extremely ambitious, considering high costs and muted interest from end-users. Steelmaker ArcelorMittal recently warned that it will review its decarbonization strategy at plants in Germany and France as green H₂ is evolving slowly toward commercialization and customers have limited appetite when it comes to paying a premium for low-carbon or green steel.

H₂ consumption in Europe is 7.2 MMtpy of which 99.7% is produced from unabated natural gas, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) said in a report from November 2024. Moreover, installed capacity of electrolyzers in Europe in 2023 was only 216 MW, the report noted, while 100 GW of electrolyzer capacity was needed for Europe to reach the 2030 target of 10 MMtpy of domestic production.

“Clean H₂ will play an important role in the future low-carbon energy system in Germany and elsewhere. However, discussions of a H₂ economy might potentially be overstating what the reality will be. Above all, a global market for clean H₂ must develop and this is not going to happen in 5 yr,” said Lentschig.

“We are talking about longer time horizons and competition from alternative clean energy sources here, not just in terms of technical developments needed for clean H₂ to be cost-competitive with other low-carbon and even fossil-based options, but also the economically feasible application of H₂ across industries. Finding Germany’s and Europe’s competitive edge will require significant structural changes, including transforming industrial value chains in H₂ end-use sectors,” she continued.

Lentschig believes investments will become more targeted instead of ‘every sector’ being a potential H₂ off-taker. 

“H₂ use for decarbonization is really about emissions-intensive industries, mainly steel and chemical production, and heavy-duty transport like aviation and shipping, and not about using it for domestic heating, commercial vehicles and other sectors where electrification, the use of biomass and other renewables are more competitive.”

FIRST SECTION READIED

Despite the supply challenges, 342 mi. (552 km) of H₂ pipelines in Germany is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. However, Ralf Borschinsky, spokesperson for ONTRAS, told P&GJ that despite the H₂ conversions, there should still be sufficient transport capacity for natural gas in the future.

“In eastern Germany we have a special kind of grid due to the fact that in the past we transported so-called town gas which only had a third of the calorific value of today’s natural gas, meaning you needed 3 cubic meters (m³) of town gas to transport the same energy as 1 m³ of natural gas today. So, you needed more pipelines to transport the same amount of energy,” he said.

“The switch from town gas in East Germany was finalized in the mid-1990s. That means we now have pipelines in some regions that can be converted to transport H₂ without significantly cutting natural gas capacities.”

Borschinsky notes that conversion is a much cheaper option than building new H₂ pipelines.

“We are also planning about 62-mi. (100 km) of new H₂ pipelines in areas where there are either no usable or existing gas pipelines and these are currently undergoing administrational approval processes. However, building new pipelines is about 80% more expensive than conversions,” he said.

In Germany, the financing is now in place for the pipelines to be completed by 2027. The respective TSO have the FID for that, Borschinsky said.

Meanwhile, the regulatory framework is still under development for gas quality standards.

“We don’t know what the gas quality for H₂ will be. For methane, it is given, for H₂ there are different estimates. There are no final decisions yet,” said Borschinsky. H₂T