European partners mull German green hydrogen pipe

European project partners announced April 26 the signing of a letter of intent to build what would be Germany's first offshore green hydrogen pipeline.

German gas transport company Gascade, Dutch gas infrastructure company Gasunie, German energy company RWE and Royal Dutch Shell signed a declaration of intent to work together on the AquaDuctus project.

“The AquaDuctus pipeline will transport green hydrogen from the North Sea directly to the continent,” the partners announced. “It is part of the AquaVentus initiative, which plans to install 10 GW of electrolysis capacity for green hydrogen production from offshore wind power between Heligoland and the Dogger sand bank.”

Electricity obtained from renewable resources such as the Dogger Bank wind farm in the North Sea could be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. A first for Germany, the pipeline would transport up to 1mn tonnes of green hydrogen/yr from 2035 onward. It would replace five high-voltage, direct-current transmission systems that would otherwise have to be built to bring the power from offshore.

Before embarking further on the proposed project, the partners said they needed to carry out an extensive feasibility study to prove its merit.

Hydrogen is advancing as a clean energy option across the energy sector. Shell, one of the partners in the AquaDuctus pipeline, said last week it was working on a feasibility study with partners for the trial use of hydrogen fuel cells for ships in Singapore, marking the first time it has taken part in such a project.