Germany's first long distance gas pipeline was upgraded to transport hydrogen

Germany's gas infrastructure company, Open Grid Europe(OGE), has announced that it is upgrading Germany's first long-distance gas pipeline for hydrogen delivery. The move is part of Germany's energy transition, in which the government is pushing for the existing gas network to be used to transport syngas produced from renewable sources.

The 46-kilometer pipeline is located in northwestern Germany, stretching from the city of Emsburen to the city of Bad Bentheim in Lower Saxony to the city of Legden in the neighboring state of North Rhine-Westphalia. For the conversion, the gas in the pipeline will be transferred to another section of the pipeline within two days. These pipelines are expected to be used for hydrogen delivery by 2025.

The project, jointly overseen by OGE and gas transport company Nowega, is part of the German government's plan to build a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure in the next few years. The pipeline renovation is part of the GET H2 Nukleus project, which is funded by the EU's Major Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) initiative.

The upgrading of natural gas pipelines is of great significance to different regions. For example, the Emsburen-Bad Bentheim segment is owned by OGE, while the Bad Bentheim-Legden segment is jointly owned by OGE and Nowega. At the same time, Nowega also plans to start upgrading another pipeline between Lingen and Bad Bentheim in Lower Saxony in November 2023. This upgrade will enable various customers in heavy industry and smes to connect to the hydrogen supply in the future. Leipzig-based Ontras in December 2022 began construction of Germany's first hydrogen pipeline in eastern Saxony, a 900km gas network that will make use of converted gas infrastructure.

This is part of a growing push by the German government to reduce emissions by using hydrogen as a future renewable energy source, especially in areas such as heavy industry and aviation. Hydrogen energy is the solution for these hard-to-cut industries, especially green hydrogen produced from renewable electricity.