- Projects from six partners of the GET H2 initiative may be funded as part of the Hy2Infra wave of the IPCEI programme
- The individual funding amounts will be determined with the pending funding decisions from the federal and state governments
- bp, Nowega, OGE, RWE Generation, RWE Gas Storage West and Thyssengas want to combine the production, transport, storage and purchase of green hydrogen between Emsland and the Ruhr region in an entire value chain
"The approval of the funding by the EU is an important step towards creating fundamental financing security for the projects. This is an important basis for the final investment decisions," the companies emphasise. "We now expect to receive the funding decisions quickly so that the electrolysis projects, the hydrogen pipelines and the hydrogen storage facility can become a reality as soon as possible." So far, the companies have made considerable advance payments in order to meet the schedule for commissioning the first 100 MW electrolysis plant at RWE in Lingen and the hydrogen pipelines between Lingen and Legden by 2025. The subsidised projects form the core for the establishment of one of the first domestic value chains for hydrogen. The pipelines create a connection to industrial sectors in NRW, including the Thyssenkrupp steelworks, Evonik's Marl Chemical Park and the Ruhr-Oel refinery operated by bp Gelsenkirchen.
70 per cent of the funding will be provided by the federal government and 30 per cent by the federal states. The federal government's funding has been earmarked in the recently adopted 2024 federal budget, while the federal states already made their binding commitment last year.
The aim of the projects is to create a central building block for the hydrogen economy in Emsland, Münsterland and the Ruhr region, which is set to emerge in Germany in the coming years and make a significant contribution to achieving the federal government's climate targets. Other companies in the regions should be able to benefit from the realisation of the project, which can be connected to the network as additional producers and consumers of green hydrogen from industry and SMEs. This makes the GET H2 projects an important economic factor for the regions as well as for Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The exchange within the GET H2 initiative has already initiated links to several other projects such as the connection of distribution networks for hydrogen, the supply of hydrogen refuelling stations or medium-sized industrial companies as well as the connection to other parts of the hydrogen network.
Project partner:
BP Europa SE
bp is an international oil company on its way to becoming an integrated energy company operating in Europe, North and South America, Australia, Asia and Africa. bp has set itself the goal of becoming a NetZero company by 2050 or earlier and helping the world to achieve this as well. To this end, bp has developed a clear strategy. BP Europa SE employs over 9,000 people in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Hungary. Aral has been bp's petrol station brand in Germany since 2002.
Nowega GmbH
Nowega GmbH is a long-distance pipeline network operator based in Münster. The subsidiary of Erdgas Münster GmbH operates, maintains and markets around 1,500 kilometres of high-pressure gas pipelines. The pipeline network stretches from the Dutch border across Lower Saxony and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia to Wendland and is part of the intra-European transport routes for natural gas.
Open Grid Europe GmbH
OGE is one of Europe's leading transmission system operators. With our pipeline network of around 12,000 kilometres, we transport gas throughout Germany and, due to our geographical location, are the link for gas flows in the European internal market. Our 1,450 employees stand for security of supply. We make our network available to all market participants in a non-discriminatory, market-oriented and transparent manner. We shape energy supply. Today and in the energy mix of the future.
RWE Gas Storage West GmbH
RWE Gas Storage West, based in Essen, operates and markets five underground natural gas storage facilities (cavern storage facilities) with a working gas volume of around 1.6 billion cubic metres for the north-west European gas market. With the flexible and reliable services of RWE Gas Storage West, the natural gas storage facilities are currently making an important contribution to security of supply in the natural gas market. Looking to the future, gas storage facilities, with their ability to store energy in the short and long term as part of sector coupling, can be an important building block for a secure and affordable energy transition. RWE Gas Storage West is actively involved in the transformation process towards climate-neutral gases and the development of a European H2 market and is investing in new H2 infrastructures as a pioneer.
RWE
RWE is shaping and setting the pace in the green energy world. With its Growing Green investment and growth offensive, RWE is making a significant contribution to the success of the energy transition and the decarbonisation of the energy system. Around 20,000 employees work for the company in almost 30 countries worldwide. RWE is already one of the leading companies in the field of renewable energies. Between 2024 and 2030, RWE will invest 55 billion euros worldwide in offshore and onshore wind, solar energy, storage technologies, flexible generation and hydrogen projects. By the end of the decade, the company's green portfolio will grow to more than 65 gigawatts of generation capacity. It will be perfectly complemented by global energy trading. RWE is decarbonising its business in line with the 1.5-degree reduction pathway and will phase out coal by 2030. RWE will be climate-neutral by 2040. In line with the Purpose - Our energy for a sustainable life.
Thyssengas GmbH
Thyssengas GmbH is a German transmission system operator. The company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021, is headquartered in Dortmund. Thyssengas operates a gas network around 4,400 kilometres long - mostly in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also with individual pipelines in Lower Saxony. It supplies downstream distribution network operators as well as industrial companies and power plants. Thyssengas is focussing on hydrogen as a gaseous energy source for a climate-neutral future. The Dortmund-based network operator is involved in numerous initiatives to this end. At the same time, it is making targeted investments in the conversion of its pipeline system to enable a rapid hydrogen ramp-up as part of the energy transition. The company currently employs around 450 people at seven locations in the grid area, and the number is growing.
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