Today, Federal Minister Habeck, together with several state economics ministers, handed over the funding notices for 23 outstanding and pioneering hydrogen projects. Another project can start with an early start to the measures.
The 23 projects belong to the third so-called Hy2Infra wave of the IPCEI Hydrogen (Important Projects of Common European Interest), which was approved by the EU Commission under state aid law on February 15, 2024. Technology and end-user projects are now being decisively supplemented by the production of renewable hydrogen and the development of transport and storage infrastructure. With 30 % co-financing from the participating states, the federal and state governments are jointly providing funding of 4.6 billion euros for this.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck : The energy transition remains one of the greatest challenges for our country, even in the face of further crises and conflicts. By promoting hydrogen projects, we are taking an important step towards a climate-neutral and sustainable economy in Europe and beyond. We are giving the green light for the construction of electrolyzers in the three-digit megawatt class, thus enabling important progress in the domestic production of green hydrogen. An efficient hydrogen infrastructure plays a key role in enabling the decarbonization of industry and the energy sector. Hydrogen pipelines will be the lifeblood of industrial centers. In doing so, we are creating the conditions for climate-neutral growth.
The funded projects cover the entire hydrogen value chain:
- The production of green hydrogen by electrolysers with up to 1.4 GW of hydrogen production capacity powered by renewable energy.
- Innovative storage solutions for hydrogen, for efficient and safe storage of up to 370 GWh .
- Pipeline infrastructure of up to 2000 km in length to ensure the transport and availability of hydrogen.
- The use of liquid organic hydrogen carriers (so-called “LOHC”) for the transport of around 1,800 tonnes of hydrogen per year.
A particular focus is on the interaction of individual projects. Several projects are forming cross-state clusters of pipeline, storage and generation infrastructure with connections to industrial customers in energy-intensive sectors such as the steel and chemical industries. Other projects are intended to enable pipeline-based hydrogen imports to Germany in the future by connecting pipelines from neighboring countries (such as the Netherlands). The IPCEI pipeline projects are also an important building block for the hydrogen core network, which will enable the rapid and cost-efficient development of the hydrogen transport network in Germany by 2032.
Part of the funding of EUR 4.6 billion is supported by the German Recovery and Resilience Plan (DARP), which is financed from funds from the European Union’s NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The companies themselves are investing an additional EUR 3.3 billion. Including funding from the federal and state governments, the total investment volume by 2030 will therefore be around EUR 7.9 billion. With the IPCEI -Hy2Infra-Wave, the federal government is underlining its commitment to a sustainable and climate-friendly restructuring of the energy supply.
The funding of the IPCEI -Hy2Infra-Wave projects is part of the National Hydrogen Strategy, which was updated by the federal government in 2023. In addition, an import strategy for hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives is to be adopted soon. This is intended to provide orientation and clarity about the overarching goals and framework conditions, the German import demand for hydrogen and derivatives, and the establishment of hydrogen partnerships and import corridors.
| Project Name | Company | Location | Description |
| ESE_ECoEG – Energy Infrastructure: Large-scale Production, Storage, and Distribution of Green Hydrogen | ENERTRAG Elektrolysekorridor Ost GmbH & Co. KG | Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Construction and operation of 185 MW electrolysis capacity |
| Clean Hydrogen Coastline – H2 Pipeline Infrastructure Northwest (CHC-H2-PIN) | EWE NETZ GmbH | Lower Saxony | Construction and operation of 56 km hydrogen pipelines (28 km new build / 28 km repurposing) |
| GOSpeicher – Green Octopus Central Germany – Cavern Storage for Hydrogen | VNG Gasspeicher GmbH | Saxony-Anhalt | Upgrade and operation of a cavern storage with a capacity of 50 million cubic meters |
| HH-WIN – Hamburg Hydrogen Industry Network | Gasnetz Hamburg GmbH | Hamburg | Construction and operation of 40 km hydrogen pipelines (new build) |
| Get H2 Storage – Hydrogen Storage at Cavern Storage Site in Gronau-Epe | RWE Gas Storage West GmbH | North Rhine-Westphalia | Upgrade and operation of a cavern storage with a capacity of 28 million cubic meters |
| GET_H2_Thyssengas – Hydrogen Transport | Thyssengas GmbH | Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia | Construction and operation of 73 km hydrogen pipelines (12 km new build / 61 km repurposing) |
| mosaHYc – Hydrogen Infrastructure at the Germany-France Border in Saarland | Creos Deutschland Wasserstoff GmbH | Saarland | Construction and operation of 41 km hydrogen pipelines (18.5 km new build / 22.5 km repurposing) |
| AquaDuctus Offshore/Onshore Hydrogen Pipeline | AquaDuctus Pipeline GmbH | Lower Saxony | Construction and operation of 203 km offshore hydrogen pipelines (new build) and 92 km onshore hydrogen pipelines |
| GrueH2Ro – Green Hydrogen from Rostock | GHS 2 GmbH | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Construction and operation of 100 MW electrolysis capacity |
| GreenMotionSteel – Construction of a 120 MW Electrolyser for Green Hydrogen Production | AIR LIQUIDE Deutschland GmbH | North Rhine-Westphalia | Construction and operation of 120 MW electrolysis capacity |
| GET_H2_Nukleus – Hydrogen Production Plant | RWE Nukleus Green H2 GmbH | Lower Saxony | Construction and operation of 300 MW electrolysis capacity |
| LGH2 – Lingen Green Hydrogen – 100MW Electrolysis Plant | Lingen Green Hydrogen GmbH & Co. KG | Lower Saxony | Construction and operation of 100 MW electrolysis capacity |
| HyPerLink – Hydrogen Infrastructure | Gasunie Deutschland Transport Services GmbH | Bremen, Lower Saxony | Construction and operation of 407 km hydrogen pipelines (53 km new build / 354 km repurposing) |
| H2P – Green Hydrogen Production via Water Electrolysis | EWE HYDROGEN GmbH | Bremen, Lower Saxony | Construction and operation of 370 MW electrolysis capacity |
| H2S – Large-scale Hydrogen Storage in a Salt Cavern | EWE GASSPEICHER GmbH | Lower Saxony | Upgrade and operation of a cavern storage with a capacity of 17 million cubic meters |
| HGHH (Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub) – Construction of a 100-MW Electrolyser | Hamburg Green Hydrogen GmbH & Co. KG | Hamburg | Construction and operation of 100 MW electrolysis capacity |
| GET_H2_OGE – Hydrogen Transport | Open Grid Europe GmbH | Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia | Construction and operation of 85 km hydrogen pipelines (35 km new build / 50 km repurposing) |
| HydroHub_Fenne – Construction of an Electrolysis Plant | HydroHub Fenne GmbH | Saarland | Construction and operation of 55 MW electrolysis capacity |
| GET_H2_Nowega – Hydrogen Transport | Nowega GmbH | Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia | Construction and operation of 158 km hydrogen pipelines (16 km new build / 142 km repurposing) |
| GH@BD – Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube | Hydrogenious LOHC Infra Bavaria GmbH | Bavaria | Construction and operation of two R&D LOHC hydrogenation plants and an industrial dehydrogenation plant |
| doing_hydrogen – ONTRAS – Pipeline-based Hydrogen Transport System in East Germany | ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH | Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt | Construction and operation of 618 km hydrogen pipelines (442 km new build / 176 km repurposing) |
| HyTechHafen-Rostock – Creation of a 100 MW Hydrogen Production Infrastructure | rostock EnergyPort cooperation GmbH | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Construction and operation of 100 MW electrolysis capacity |
| GO – Green Octopus Central Germany – GO! – Transport and Distribution of Hydrogen via Pipeline | ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH | Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt | Construction and operation of 301 km hydrogen pipelines (106 km new build / 195 km repurposing) |
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