Germany considers hydrogen grid company with state stake – media report

The German government is considering setting up a company with state participation to oversee the establishment of a national hydrogen network as part of the country’s move to climate neutrality, reported Welt am Sonntag. “In order to ensure the coordinated […] development of a hydrogen network and its financial feasibility, a hydrogen network company with state participation is to be founded,” said draft revisions of Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy, seen by the newspaper. The size of the government stake was not mentioned in the document. In the medium-term, the new company would acquire the existing hydrogen pipelines and those natural gas pipelines which will be refurbished to transport hydrogen, writes Welt. The pipeline company is to “implement planning and accelerated implementation of a Germany-wide network for hydrogen transport in 2030,” the draft said. 

The National Hydrogen Strategy is due for revision every three years, but with a change of government and the energy crisis occurring since its introduction, the economy ministry is revisiting the strategy ahead of schedule and plans for the new strategy to be adopted in January 2023. The revision also includes plans for new national pipelines, new hydrogen storage concepts, import strategies and international hydrogen infrastructure. Hydrogen made with renewable electricity (so-called green hydrogen) has emerged as a key fuel to reach net-zero climate targets.