Hydrogen Germany – latest Projects

The GET H₂ Nukleus project by bp, Evonik, Nowega, OGE and RWE Generation aims to create the first publicly accessible hydrogen infrastructure in Germany. The grid, which is around 130 kilometres long, connects the production of green hydrogen in Lingen with industrial customers in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Hy4Chem project is a major initiative by BASF and Siemens Energy to promote the hydrogen economy and decarbonize the chemical production. Using a 54-megawatt electrolyzer with a proton exchange membrane (PEM), the project will produce green hydrogen at BASF’s Ludwigshafen production site.

Gasunie’s Hyperlink project is an initiative to build a comprehensive hydrogen network in northern and western Germany. The aim of the project is to create 660 kilometers of infrastructure connecting key industrial regions and enabling green hydrogen imports from the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.

BMW is focusing on green hydrogen to make production at the Leipzig plant sustainable and economical. The paint shop already uses bivalent burners that can also be operated with hydrogen. This changeover requires only minimal adjustments and can take place during ongoing operations.

The transformation program aims to achieve near CO₂-free steel production and will be implemented in three stages. The first stage is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2025 and comprises a direct reduction plant, an electric arc furnace and a 100 MW electrolysis plant for hydrogen production.

The Kiel coastal power plant, operated by Stadtwerke Kiel, is a modern gas-engine CHP plant that has been in operation since the end of 2019. With an electrical output of 190 MW and a thermal output of 192 MW, it ensures the supply of electricity and heat for over 73,500 households in the Kiel region.

The WUN H₂ GmbH was founded in 2021 as a joint venture by Rießner-Gase GmbH, Siemens Project Ventures GmbH and Stadtwerke Wunsiedel. The aim was to plan, build and operate Bavaria’s largest energy storage facility. At the time of commissioning in September 2022, the plant was one of the largest in Germany and Europe.

The Bad Lauchstädt energy park is testing the intelligent production of green hydrogen from wind power as well as its storage, transportation, marketing and use on an industrial scale in central Germany. The energy park thus represents Germany’s first complete H2 value chain in a closed cycle.

The H2ercules initiative aims to create the core of the hydrogen infrastructure in Germany in XXL format by 2030. To this end, OGE, RWE and, in future, other partners are working together across the value chain in order to quickly supply consumers in the south and west of Germany with hydrogen from the north.

SEFE is establishing global hydrogen supply chains and thus securing the supply of clean hydrogen for Germany and Europe. The focus is on procuring hydrogen from countries with a lot of wind and solar energy in the form of ammonia, which is transported by ship and converted into hydrogen at import terminals. Via the German hydrogen core grid, it will then be delivered directly to the blast furnaces, conveyor belts and production lines at German industrial sites, for example. The international partnerships are an important step towards establishing hydrogen as a key energy source for the energy transition and ensuring a stable supply for industry.

AquaDuctus is an offshore hydrogen pipeline of the AquaVentus initiative and connects the green energy sources of the North Sea with the European mainland. As an “Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI)”, it plays a key role in the development of a forward-looking hydrogen infrastructure and links European production and consumption centers.

Hydrogen Pilot Cavern (HPC) Krummhörn is a pioneering Uniper project for storing green hydrogen in a specially created salt cavern. It makes an important contribution to the development of large-scale storage solutions. Trial operation began in 2024, with the aim of achieving a storage capacity of up to 600 GWh by 2030.

Mainova is converting Frankfurt’s largest combined heat and power plant, HKW West. By 2026, two new, efficient gas turbine plants with heat recovery steam generators will be built that produce heat and electricity simultaneously and are already prepared for the use of hydrogen.

The transformation of local gas distribution networks to green gases such as hydrogen plays a central role in the energy transition. Energie Südbayern, Energienetze Bayern and Thüga are leading the way with the H₂Direkt project: in the fall of 2023, they converted an existing local network with connected private customers in Hohenwart, Bavaria, to 100 % hydrogen for the first time in Germany. Since then, ten households and one commercial customer have been supplied with H₂ via the repurposed network. On a small scale, but in practice and with success, H₂Direkt is demonstrating how the conversion of today’s fossil gas supply to a hydrogen supply can be achieved. And this is possible in principle for all customer groups, from households to trade and industry.

Flow – making hydrogen happen is an essential part of the German hydrogen core network. The first sections of the high-performance pipeline system will be available for green hydrogen from 2025.  It accelerates the energy transition, reduces CO₂ emissions and opens up new opportunities for a sustainable future for the industry.

The regional suppliers ENTEGA AG, Mainova AG, ESWE Versorgungs AG and Kraftwerke Mainz-Wiesbaden AG have joined forces with other partners to develop a regional hydrogen distribution network. The first sections of this approximately 300-kilometer-long network are to be put into operation from 2028. Local distribution of hydrogen is scheduled to begin in 2032: the aim here is to gradually convert the existing natural gas infrastructure to the exclusive use of hydrogen.