Sign language
A particularly ambitious project: Producing hydrogen directly on the high seas, Image: Illustration/NorthH2
Pipelines, filling stations, electrolysers – careful preparation is needed so that we can use hydrogen on a large scale in the future. We show 12 projects that are already in progress today.
They are all part of the future hydrogen infrastructure in the state of Bremen. This in turn is part of a northern German, German, and ultimately European infrastructure. Only an interconnected hydrogen network can bring together transportation and industry with the supply from electrolysers, import ports, and renewable energies. This is because hydrogen is usually produced in a different place (e.g., near a wind farm) than it is consumed (e.g., a chemical plant).
What the future of hydrogen will look like in detail is set out in the Bremen and North German hydrogen strategy. Here, it is important that supply and demand are developing together. Many projects are still in the experimental phase, in which new findings are being gathered in order to improve plans for the future.
Hydrogen infrastructure projects in Bremen: Pipelines and storage facilities
Hydrogen core network, image: FNB Gas e.V.
1. Hydrogen core network
Germany has a well-developed natural gas network. Pipelines are the most effective and cheapest way to transport liquids and gases – which is why they are also ideal for hydrogen. The German natural gas network can also be used to transport hydrogen with minor adjustments.
One step in this direction is the “hydrogen core network”. It is intended to connect initially the most important locations for hydrogen production and consumption in Germany by 2032 and reach a length of 9,700 kilometers (in comparison, the length of the natural gas pipeline network in Germany: 40,000 kilometers). Around 60 percent of the network will use existing natural gas pipelines, and additional new pipelines will be built.
According to current plans, Bremen is to be connected in 2027 via the HyPerLink project (see below).
Status: The 15 future operators of the hydrogen core network will apply to the Federal Network Agency for the necessary measures by May 21, 2024.
2. HyPerLink
The HyPerLink project is a “hydrogen core network on a small scale”. Gas pipeline network operator Gasunie is building a hydrogen pipeline network with a total length of 660 kilometers, connecting northwest Germany from East Frisia via Bremen to Hamburg and Hanover. There will also be a connection to the Netherlands. The network will connect hydrogen producers with consumers (such as the ArcelorMittal steelworks in Bremen), but will also include storage facilities and, later, import terminals. With the approval of the European Union, it will be funded by the German government (70 percent) and the participating federal states (30 percent) as part of the IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest).
Status: Construction work on the project began in January 2023. A first section between Bremen and Hamburg and the hydrogen grid connection in Bremen are due to be completed in 2026.
3. Huntorf cavern (EWE)
In Huntorf, Lower Saxony, the energy supplier EWE wants to convert a cavern, which has been used for natural gas, into hydrogen storage. Caverns are very important for the hydrogen infrastructure. This is because the gas can be temporarily stored in them, thus balancing out the different requirements between producers and consumers. This is because wind and sun, as the most important suppliers of green electricity and therefore also green hydrogen, produce different amounts of energy depending on the day and season, while consumers, such as the Bremen steelworks, have a constant demand. Like the connection to the steelworks, the storage facility in Lower Saxony is part of the Clean Hydrogen Coastline project (see below) and should be able to store up to 70 gigawatt hours – as much as all existing electricity storage facilities in Germany. This close connection means that the storage facility is also highly relevant for Bremen's industry.
Status: Planning and preparations are underway and storage is scheduled to start in 2026.
4. Clean Hydrogen Coastline
The funded IPCEI project Clean Hydrogen Coastline aims to demonstrate a functioning hydrogen economy. The aim is to bring together pipelines, electrolysers, storage facilities, and consumers.
It includes projects with a total investment volume of more than one billion euros. These include electrolysers in Bremen and Emden, the Huntorf storage facility, and pipelines operated by Gasunie and EWE Netz. This is why the who is who of the supply industry in the north are also involved in the project: In addition to the gas network operators, the energy supply companies EWE and swb, the electricity network operator TenneT and ArcelorMittal with the Bremen steelworks as a major consumer. The hydrogen is to be used there, for example, in the direct reduction plant that is being built as part of the DRIBE2 project.
Status: The EU approved the funding in February 2024.
5. TenneT ArcelorMittal substation
The expansion of offshore wind power in the North Sea, but also the new electrolysers being built, the climate-friendly transformation of the steelworks, and the general increase in electricity-based applications are changing the demands on the electricity grid: electricity is flowing in new ways and is also needed in much larger quantities to meet demand. The electricity grid must therefore be expanded and adapted. The operator TenneT is responsible for this at the level of the transmission grid in the north. In Bremen, a new transformer station and a so-called HVDC converter for offshore wind power will be built near the steelworks by the early 2030s. In addition to hydrogen, more electricity will also be used at the site in the future to produce steel in electric arc furnaces. In addition to the transformer station, TenneT is also expanding the transmission grid for lines around Bremen.
Status: In the planning phase.
6. North Sea Hydrogen Offshore Farm
The North Sea Hydrogen Offshore Farm is a particularly ambitious project. The project envisages the construction of a so-called PEM electrolyzer with a capacity of 900 megawatts in the middle of the German Bight. In addition to the project company, the Heinrich Rönner Group from Bremerhaven, one of the largest shipbuilding and steel construction companies in northern Germany, is also involved – Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven is one of the family-owned companies. And as one of the leading shipping companies in heavy goods and special shipping, the Bremer Harren Group – also a family business – is contributing its logistics and transportation expertise to the project.
Status: In the planning phase.
Hydrogen infrastructure projects in Bremen: Electrolyzers
1. HyBit/hyBit
An electrolyzer with a production capacity of ten megawatts is being built at the Bremen steelworks – on the site of the swb Mittelsbüren power plant. The hydrogen is to be used directly in the steelworks and thus will help to reduce the CO2 emissions of this major consumer. The “HyBit” project accompanies a second research project called “hyBit” (Hydrogen for Bremen's industrial Transformation): It examines technical, economic, ecological, legal, and social aspects with regard to the conversion of industrial processes to hydrogen. Industry and science are working hand in hand to gain new insights.
Status: Construction work on the electrolyzer has begun. Completion is scheduled for 2024.
2. Further electrolysers
HyBit is an initial pilot project. Further capacities for the production of hydrogen are to be created in Bremen in the coming years. Part of the clean hydrogen coastline project, for example, will be a 50 MW electrolyser, an extension of the Mittelsbüren site. In further expansion stages, its capacity could even increase to up to 300 MW.
Status: In the concept phase.
Hydrogen infrastructure projects in Bremen: Mobility
1. WIPLiN
WIPLiN (“Hydrogen for the Development and Production of Aviation in Northern Germany”) is all about the infrastructure surrounding the sustainable use of hydrogen in aviation. The Airbus sites in Bremen, Hamburg, and Stade are working together to lay the foundations and help shape new industry standards. The Airbus Fire Safety Center, the ECOMAT research and technology center, the Airbus ZEROe Development Center Bremen (ZEDC), and the ITZ Nord research center are also part of the IPCEI project. They all represent Bremen's particular strengths in the field of research into hydrogen tanks and the associated systems.
Status: Sub-projects are currently being implemented (ZEDC), others are under construction (Fire Safety Center).
2. Bremerhaven test field
In Bremerhaven, the focus is on hydrogen for the mobility sector. The test region for mobile hydrogen applications is home to hydrogen-powered buses, for example. Two electrolysers are currently being built for a new hydrogen filling station. Under the management of the project company HY.City.Bremerhaven, the interplay between production and consumption is to be tested here based on real needs.
Bremerhaven is also a test region for rail transport: hydrogen-powered local trains have been in test operation since 2018 and have been in regular service between Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, and Buxtehude since 2022. Another research project is looking at hydrogen-powered shunting locomotives in the port of Bremerhaven. Hydrogen in rail transport is considered a promising candidate where lines are not yet electrified.
Status: Projects are currently being implemented or are in active operation.
3. Hydrogen Lab Bremerhaven
The Hydrogen Lab in Bremerhaven began trial operations at the end of 2023. The test laboratory, which is based at the Fraunhofer IWES Institute, allows industry and science to test the interaction of various components of the hydrogen infrastructure: from generation coming from fluctuating energy sources, such as wind and solar power, to electrolysis, storage, and consumption.
Status: Trial operation started.
4. Hydrogen filling stations
Hydrogen filling stations are an important building block for road-based mobility. Bremen already has a filling station in the Osterholz district since 2017, while another is to be built in Bremerhaven. The latter is connected to two electrolysers and can therefore also produce hydrogen itself.
Status: Bremen: in operation, Bremerhaven: ground-breaking ceremony in January 2024.
