Dusseldorf Hydrogen is seen as a hope for the energy transition. But in order to expand the hydrogen network, natural gas lines have to be replaced. The pilot project “H2HoWi” of the distribution network operator Westnetz could now prove: The fossil networks can transport 100 percent hydrogen.
In Holzwickede near Dortmund, half a kilometer of the natural gas pipelines of the operator Westnetz will be converted. A connection to a larger hydrogen network there is not any. The energy source is to be used by four commercial customers to generate heat.
Experts agree: The conversion of industry and transport to the energy source cannot take place quickly enough. The production of green hydrogen causes hardly any CO2 emissions. In addition, the gas can be stored better and cheaper than battery power.
The test facility in Holzwickede was opened on Thursday. Catherine Rich, CEO of Westenergie AG, whose subsidiary Westnetz is, says: “We are dealing with a molecule that does two things: enable security of supply, but is climate-neutral.” She also chairs the national hydrogen council, an independent, non-partisan body appointed by the federal government Advisory Board.
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NRW Energy Minister Mona Neubaur, who visited the construction site near Dortmund Airport, explains: “There will be many areas in industry in NRW that cannot be electrified.” The Green politician’s message: “We want an investment climate for exactly these projects.”
18 billion euros investments in the hydrogen network
The pilot project “H2HoWi” is scientifically supported and has a duration of three years. The total investment amounts to one million euros. The network development plan of the German transmission system operators envisages that sub-networks such as that in Holzwickede “largely grow together to form an overall network by 2032”.
This would consist of lines with a total length of around 8,000 kilometers and would grow to more than 13,000 kilometers by 2045. The network development plan envisages total investments of 18 billion euros.
Christoph Hebling, head of the hydrogen division at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, calls the pilot project a “milestone”. Hebling advocates a rapid expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure from: “Time is the most important argument of all”, says the physicist.
The temperature increases caused by climate change are felt worldwide. “We have to look for solutions that can be implemented quickly. Of course, the pipeline changes have their charm.” Hebling explains that three quarters of the existing natural gas infrastructure in Germany is able to transport 100 percent hydrogen.
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Benjamin Pfluger, who heads the Integrated Energy Structures department at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Energy, explains: “In principle, the transport of hydrogen seems possible for many natural gas pipelines – however, this assessment is usually only based on models that first have to be tested in real life. In this respect, the project in Holzwickede is an important and positive step.”
Expert: Expansion plans are “rather optimistic”
Hydrogen could flow through the existing natural gas network with a transport capacity of twelve to 14 gigawatts. For comparison: the two strands of the planned Suedlink route, a high-voltage line, would each have a capacity of two gigawatts.
Fraunhofer expert Pfluger says: “The conversion of the lines is an important approach because it is cheaper than building new network sections. But the question is: which natural gas pipelines will be free and when? Given the changing gas flows since the beginning of the Ukraine war, it is currently difficult to say with certainty which natural gas pipelines we will no longer need in five years.”
The plans of the long-distance network operators envisage that more than 80 percent of the lines in the future H2 network are to be repurposed. In this regard, the expansion plans are “rather at the optimistic end of what will be possible,” he explains.
The minister at a recent press conference on the coal phase-out.
(Photo: IMAGO/Jens Schicke)
In addition, many elements of the legal framework for planning and financing grid expansion are still missing. The German long-distance network operators also recommend an adjustment of the rules in their network development plan.
Green electricity is a prerequisite
In order to produce green, i.e. low-CO2-emission hydrogen, sufficient electricity from renewable sources is required. According to Christoph Hebling, it is clear that “Germany will never be energy self-sufficient”. Germany is too small for that, and the meteorological conditions are not right.
Falko Ueckerdt from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research explains: “In the short term, i.e. for the acute energy crisis of the next two years, hydrogen and the expansion of the H2 infrastructure will not help.” The planned ramp-up is “urgently necessary” in view of climate protection goals and energy security. However, direct electrification with renewable energies – i.e. primarily solar and wind power – is preferable.
>> Read here: That’s how difficult it is for companies to switch to gas alternatives
The explanation behind it: Green electricity used for electrolysis instead of flowing into the grid will be replaced with electricity from gas-fired power plants. The problem is that gas is currently expensive and scarce. The expansion of renewable energies could “already reduce dependency on imports in the short term and make a contribution to overcoming the crisis as well as to energy sovereignty and the energy transition,” explains Ueckert.
But: “Unfortunately, we are still a long way from achieving the expansion targets for renewable energies,” explains Benjamin Pfluger. “In particular, the plans discussed at European level are very ambitious for hydrogen. The expansion of the electrolyzers required for this is beyond all growth rates that we have observed in the energy sector to date.”
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