The Hydrogen Stream: German hydrogen collaboration strategy takes shape

Gasunie subsidiary Hynetwork Services signed a cooperation agreement with two German transmission operators, Open Grid Europe and Thyssengas, to connect national hydrogen networks between the Netherlands and Germany. Dutch company Gasunie reported in an emailed note that, the same day that BP, Uniper, E.ON/Essent, Onyx Power, Equinor, and Engie signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to transport hydrogen via the Netherlands to industrial customers in Germany. EnBW and Rotterdam's import terminal ACE Terminal also announced plans to cooperate in supplying hydrogen from ACE Terminal's planned facilities at the Port of Rotterdam to German end-users.

Gasunie and Danish national transmission system operator Energinet agreed on the next steps for developing the Danish-German hydrogen network. “From 2028, a cross-border transmission connection between Denmark and Germany will enable the transport of green hydrogen. To this end, the two companies want to jointly develop the hydrogen network between Western Denmark and Northern Germany,” said Gusanie. The cross-border network is expected to span from the hydrogen underground storage in Lille Torup in the north of Denmark to Heidenau, south of Hamburg, with a total length of approximately 550 kilometers.

Turneo, a joint venture between Hamburg-based Karlsson and the energy service provider EWE, started operations of its 2 MW electrolysis plant producing the first green hydrogen in Cuxhaven, a seaside town on Germany's North Sea coast. German energy company Turneo supplied the fuel for the first of four supply vessels in the Mittelplate fleet of Wintershall Dea. The ship transports passengers and goods between Cuxhaven and the Mittelplate drilling and production island. “In the future, the plant will also produce hydrogen for other ships and provide a hydrogen refueling station in Cuxhaven,” said Turneo.

HDF Energy committed to co-developing the green hydrogen White Dunes project in the Dakhla region of Morocco. “This collaboration has been made possible by HDF Energy's forthcoming minority stake in the project, sealing a strong partnership with Falcon Capital Dakhla, a leading Moroccan developer,” said the French company. The project is part of Morocco's Green Hydrogen tender. According to the French developer, it could eventually reach a capacity of 10 GW of wind energy, 7 GW of solar energy, and 8 GW of electrolysis. The first phase of the project, estimated at an investment of 20 billion Moroccan Dirhams ($1.97 billion), is currently under development.

Soltec has inaugurated a dedicated Green Hydrogen Laboratory at its Molina de Segura facilities. “This facility becomes a hub for research and development with the goal of improving hydrogen production using methods that leave no carbon footprint,” said the Murcia-based solar energy provider. The laboratory will focus on processes ranging from water purification to hydrogen storage. Soltec will experiment with various electrolyzers and technology optimization.

Asahi Kasei, Gentari Hydrogen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Petronas clean energy arm Gentari, and JGC completed a detailed feasibility study for the production of up to 8,000 tonnes per year of green hydrogen using a 60 MW alkaline water electrolyzer system in Malaysia. “The parties also signed a MoU for a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for the said project,” said the Japanese company in a statement. According to the MoU, the parties expect the FEED study to start in January 2024 with operations to commence in 2027. JGC is constructing a clean ammonia production demonstration facility adjacent to Asahi Kasei's electrolyzer at Namie-machi, Japan.