On October 22, 2024 the German government Bundesnetzagentur announced its approval of the application of German gas operators for a Euro 18,9 bln. 9,040 km hydrogen core pipeline network. The network is to connect Germany’s major hydrogen consumption and generation regions – central locations such as large industrial centres, storage facilities, power plants and import corridor by 2032. The hydrogen core network is to comprise key hydrogen infrastructure to be put into operation by 2032.
As transport corridors are not mentioned in this ambition, the arrival on the same day of the Höegh Aurora (see photo © HHM / Hasenpusch Productions) , the first of 12 vessels to sail on green ammonia by 2027 and the world’s largest car carrier ever built to date, 9,100 electric! vehicles on 14 decks, arrived in the very same city, where the Hamburg Declaration on the Decarbonization of Global Shipping was sigend on October 7 2024. The declaration seeks to establish green shipping corridors that utilize sustainable green fuels while swiftly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental impact of global shipping.
The new Energy Commissioner in his written response to the few European people questions by the EU Parliament Committee’s on hydrogen, was quite specific on the need for also domestic EU hydrogen production:
“Renewable and low-carbon hydrogen will be key for decarbonising sectors where electrification is more difficult. In this regard, our focus will be on implementing recently agreed measures such as the targets for renewable hydrogen use in industry and transport. The legislative framework, coupled with financial support, can stimulate production and offtake, while our infrastructure planning process can facilitate the development of a wellcoordinated European hydrogen network. To stay competitive, the EU industry will need both robust productionof hydrogen in the EU, as well as imports from international partners. Therefore, and in line with the revised Renewable Energy Directive, we will take forward action for imported and domestic hydrogen. The European Hydrogen Bank will kick-start market scale-up for cleaner fuels by bridging the gap between – still too high – clean hydrogen production costs and industry’s ability to pay. Building on the experience so far, I will work with the Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth on future auctions to support domestic clean hydrogen production. In addition, in cooperation with Member States, we will speed up work on developing the international leg of the Hydrogen Bank to facilitate imports and creating economic opportunities in partner countries.
The CTC Network promotes the accelerated transfer of environmentally sound technologies for low carbon and climate resilient development at the request of developing countries.
