Germany has approved construction of a 23.5-kilometre hydrogen pipeline that will connect a planned 320MW green hydrogen production facility in Emden to the country’s expanding hydrogen backbone, marking another step in the development of its clean energy infrastructure.
The project received clearance from Lower Saxony’s State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG), allowing energy companies EWE and Gastransport Nord to move forward with the pipeline connection, gasworld reported.
The approved infrastructure forms part of EWE’s Clean Hydrogen Coastline programme, which aims to establish an integrated regional system covering hydrogen production, storage and transportation.
Once operational, the pipeline is also expected to support delivery of up to 100,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually to steel producer Salzgitter for use in its Salcos direct reduced iron project at the Flachstahl production site.
To support this supply chain, two subsidiaries of Salzgitter have recently been commissioned to install a separate 110-kilometre pipeline network linking the Emden hydrogen facility with the company’s industrial operations.
The 320MW hydrogen plant in Emden will be assembled by Bilfinger and is currently targeted to begin operations by the end of 2027.
The development comes as Western Europe accelerates investment in hydrogen transport infrastructure, with transmission system operators expanding cross-border and domestic pipeline networks to connect production hubs with industrial users.
Germany’s planned hydrogen backbone, projected to extend to around 9,000 kilometres, remains the largest proposed hydrogen pipeline network in Europe and is increasingly being integrated with neighbouring energy markets.
In a related development, Gasunie, Thyssengas and Open Grid Europe recently signed an agreement aimed at linking Germany’s industrial and chemical sectors with hydrogen production, storage and import facilities in the Netherlands, strengthening regional clean energy connectivity.
