Germany’s FNB submits hydrogen core network plan

LONDON (ICIS)–The German association of gas and hydrogen transmission system operators (FNB), submitted on 15 November the draft for the national hydrogen core network to the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Affairs (BMWK) and the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA).

This move comes following the press conference by Germany’s vice-chancellor, Robert Habeck, and the chairman of the FNB, Thomas Gossmann, on 14 November, when advancements on the draft for the network strategy were presented.

PRELIMINARY CONTENT

The head of the BNetzA, Klaus Muller, said; “The  government goal is to quickly ramp up the hydrogen market”.

According to the FNB, this marks the next milestone for the implementation of the core hydrogen network.

The advancements included in the draft are the following;

• Operational core network by 2032
• Optimised length of 9,700km
• The investment costs around €19.8bn
• 60% of transmission lines exist, and will come from conversion of gas pipes
• The entry and exit capacities are expected to be 100GW and 87GW respectively

STANCE FROM RELEVANT BODIES

The chairwoman of the German Energy and Water Industry Association (BDEW), Kerstin Andrae, said “It is good that the federal government is moving forward courageously and decisively and is supporting and enabling the construction of a Germany-wide hydrogen core network by gas network operators. Hydrogen is an essential building block for a climate-neutral energy supply and for the future of Germany as a business location.”

The head of the FNB commented that “the draft of the core network fulfils the goals anchored in the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) amendment to the hydrogen core network of a Germany-wide, expandable, efficient and quickly realizable hydrogen network by the target year 2032”, he also added that “this puts Germany at the forefront in Europe when it comes to building infrastructure”.

On the other hand, the German association of gas and hydrogen storage operators, INES, did not reply at the time of writing to ICIS on its position about the draft of the application.

NEXT STEPS

The following phase of the consultation process is that the BNetzA will assess the draft and prepare the approval process before law comes into force.

Initial comments on the draft application can be submitted until 8 January 2024 on the BNetzA site.