Thyssengas submitted the application documents for the spatial impact assessment to the Münster District Government in August 2025. The District Government conducted the procedure in conjunction with the Ruhr Regional Association, which acted as the lead regional planning authority. The associated expert opinion for the North Rhine-Westphalia section is available for public inspection at the Münster District Government, the Ruhr Regional Association and in the affected districts, towns and municipalities for a period of five years.
“The completion of the spatial compatibility assessment marks a significant milestone in the project. The authorities have confirmed our proposed corridor. The corridor now recommended under spatial planning regulations provides a solid basis for further detailed planning. Our aim remains to implement the project as gently as possible and to carefully take local interests into account,” says Hubert Jesolowitz, project manager for the Emsbüren-Dorsten hydrogen pipeline.
As part of the spatial compatibility assessment, the competent authority examines whether a planned project is compatible with spatial planning conditions and the expected impacts on the surrounding area. The specific route will be determined in the subsequent planning approval procedure, in which the results of the spatial compatibility assessment must be taken into account.
In the run-up to submitting the application, Thyssengas held public consultation events in 2025, at which members of the public were able to obtain comprehensive and transparent information about the project. No spatial impact assessment procedure was required for the Lower Saxony section. Thyssengas is already preparing the planning approval procedure for this section. Further public consultation events are planned for spring and summer 2026 in the run-up to the submission of applications for the planning approval procedures in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Information regarding these events will be provided in a separate communication.
