The existing pipeline infrastructure in the Eastern German states and their central location offer enormous potential to develop Eastern Germany into a hydrogen hub for Germany and Europe. This is shown in a new study by the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne (EWI).
The study confirms that the pipeline infrastructure to be built as part of “doing hydrogen” will be needed to transport Eastern Germany’s future hydrogen demand from the production sites to the consumption hubs. The “doing hydrogen” pipeline network will thus become the nucleus for the Eastern German hydrogen economy of the future.
The study examines the development of regional hydrogen balances in Eastern Germany based on the reference years 2030 and 2045 in two scenarios: an electrification scenario and a diversification scenario. Regardless of the scenarios considered, it becomes clear that repurposing existing natural gas pipelines or investment in new hydrogen infrastructure is absolutely necessary to transport Eastern Germany’s future hydrogen demand from the production sites to the consumption centres.
Ambitious projects like “doing hydrogen” must be well planned and need time for implementation. For this reason, the study also makes clear that an appropriate investment framework must be created promptly to ensure the planning and realisation of these long-term projects. This applies not only, but especially to the planning of a hydrogen network in Eastern Germany.
The complete study is available for download here.
