Hydrogen is considered an important factor for the energy transition, especially in industry. A large core network is now to be created for distribution – essentially the first future-proof “federal highway”.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck is planning 9,700 kilometers of lines for the most important connections in a future German hydrogen network. The Green politician said this on Tuesday in Berlin when presenting the plans for the so-called hydrogen core network. Hydrogen is an important source of hope for the energy transition, which should help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in industry, among other things.
Habeck compared the lines in the hydrogen core network with federal highways. In a further step, further connections would have to be planned in the area, which would correspond to state, federal or district roads.
According to Habeck, the network will initially be planned oversized, with an exit capacity of 270 terawatt hours. For the year 2030, demand is currently expected to be between 95 and 130 teratwatt hours. “That means we’re planning for the future.”
In the long term, he assumes that Germany will produce 30 to 50 percent of its hydrogen needs itself, and the rest will then have to be imported. This should be done via pipelines or in the form of ammonia by ship. Habeck emphasized that this would make Germany more independent of imports than is currently the case with oil, gas and hard coal, where almost 100 percent is imported.
The CEO of FNB Gas, Thomas Gößmann, put the investment costs for the core network at 19.8 billion euros. The private sector should raise this amount. FNB Gas is the association of national gas transport companies in Germany.
Source: Stern
