Habeck plans 10,000-kilometer hydrogen core network
The German freeway network is around 13,000 kilometers long. In terms of size, the Federal Minister of Economics wants to get closer to this - with a hydrogen core network. He also has big plans for domestic hydrogen production.
The German government is pressing ahead with plans for a hydrogen pipeline network with investment costs of almost 20 billion euros. A 9700-kilometre-long core network is to be created by 2032 to connect ports, industry, storage facilities and power plants, for which the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Association of Transmission System Operators (FNB) have presented a pipeline map. According to the FNB, the costs will amount to 19.8 billion euros. A good 60 percent of existing natural gas pipelines can be used, while the rest will require new construction.
The network will be used throughout Europe, said Economics Minister Robert Habeck. "We are making progress there too." According to FNB CEO Thomas Gößmann, the first hydrogen will flow in 2025. "We know that we have no time to lose. The excavators have to roll next year."
Smaller distribution grids from 2032
Hydrogen - primarily generated using wind and solar power - is set to play a central role in Germany in future as a fuel that is as climate-neutral as possible. It is to be used where renewable electricity can hardly replace oil, natural gas or coal. This applies to shipping and air traffic, for example. However, it can also replace natural gas in power plants. It is also needed in industrial processes such as steel production. However, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, around two thirds of the required quantities have to be imported.
The pipeline map also envisages that hydrogen produced in North Africa can be purchased in southern Germany via Italy. The connection to the ports in the north also plays an important role, as hydrogen is to be produced from wind energy around the North Sea. It could also be landed in the form of ammonia via tankers.
As Germany wants to be climate-neutral by 2045 - i.e. no more CO2 emissions - the government wants to pick up the pace. Habeck announced that an acceleration law for the core network would be introduced, similar to that for the liquefied natural gas terminals. This network is to be a first step: In the years after 2032, the smaller distribution grids are to be connected and bring hydrogen to more end customers. Priority will again be given to the rededication of natural gas pipelines. Further expansion will be reviewed in regular stages on the basis of a network development plan.
Construction to be carried out by the private sector alone
Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Federal Cabinet intends to legislate on the financing of the core network: As with natural gas and electricity, the lines are to be paid for by user charges. However, as there will initially be relatively few users, the state wants to make advance payments over the next few years in order to keep usage affordable and promote the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy.
The fees are initially to be uniform, as set out in a draft bill for the Energy Industry Act. As the government assumes that more and more users will access the grid over the years, the account should be balanced by 2055 at the latest. If there is still a shortfall by then, the draft states that the line operators will have to contribute 24 percent of this. Contrary to initial considerations, the construction is therefore to be financed solely by the private sector - albeit with guarantees from the federal government.
The Federal Network Agency will play a central role in setting the fees. On Friday, the Bundestag strengthened its role with a reform of the Energy Industry Act, also with regard to hydrogen.
The Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, aims to create a hydrogen core network that closely mirrors the size of Germany's federal highway network, with a focus on domestic hydrogen production. This network, spanning 9700 kilometers, will be a key part of Europe's hydrogen infrastructure, with the first hydrogen flowing by 2025.
Source: www.ntv.de
