Hydrogen core network: the long-awaited dawn of the hydrogen economy

The hydrogen core network is the starting signal for the hydrogen ramp-up. It solves the so-called chicken-and-egg problem and creates an infrastructure on the basis of which the hydrogen market can develop. The FNB is working flat out on the planning so that implementation can begin this year.

Germany needs a hydrogen infrastructure An efficient supra-regional hydrogen transport infrastructure is essential for the integration of volatile renewable energies and a supply that meets demand at all times. Changes in the gas market as a result of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine also highlight how urgently we need the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy to keep German industry competitive in global markets and energy secure and affordable for all. The continued use of the gas infrastructure is not a commitment to the continued use of fossil fuels, but on the contrary a prerequisite for efficient and thus socially acceptable climate protection. Where natural gas flows today, hydrogen and other green gases may flow tomorrow.

Clear mandate for the FNB

Transmission system operators (TSOs) have already been working on hydrogen infrastructure development since 2019. However, the lack of specifications for financing and network planning in the transitional regulation for hydrogen networks has long made it impossible to get started on confirmable network planning. It was only with its initiative to amend the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) that the German government created the essential regulatory, antitrust and network planning foundations in spring 2023. The regulations include a clear mandate for TSOs to develop a supraregional hydrogen core network. In mid-July, FNB Gas e.V., the association of German transmission system operators, published the first planning status.

The core network is a political network with the target year 2032

Within a few weeks, in the run-up to publication, a scenario for the core network was agreed jointly with the Federal Network Agency and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection, incorporating the findings and information from previously conducted TSO surveys of transport requirements. The new Section 28r EnWG of the EnWG amendment forms the basis for the hydrogen core network scenario, which has been fleshed out by a published list of criteria. This scenario has a controlling function for the core network and is the basis for the modeling by the TSOs. The goal is to develop a Germany-wide, expandable, efficient and quickly realizable hydrogen network to connect major hydrogen production sites and potential import points with hydrogen consumption focal points and hydrogen storage facilities.

According to the list of criteria, the core network should focus on IPCEI projects (Important Projects of Common European Interest) and PCI projects (Projects of Common Interest) and ensure their integration into a European hydrogen network. The core network will also include energy transition real laboratories on hydrogen technologies. In the industrial sector, projects are included that are attributable to industrial sectors that, from today’s perspective, have no viable option for decarbonizing the industrial process as an alternative to hydrogen use. These include iron and steel, chemicals, refineries, glass industry, ceramics and brick products. The hydrogen core network should also ensure sufficient connectivity for generation regions and electrolysers. The feed-in capacity of electrolysers to be considered should be in line with the National Hydrogen Strategy. In addition, the core network covers large cogeneration sites for which continued operation using hydrogen is likely.
The regional balance of the core network is also an important criterion. Existing demands at the distribution network level that meet the criteria of the specified scenario are taken into account in the planning for the core network in terms of capacity. Additional requirements are to be included in the future regulatory process for integrated network planning (hydrogen and natural gas).

In total, the hydrogen core grid scenario considers a total of 309 hydrogen projects with an input capacity of 101 GWth and an output capacity of 87 GWth.

From the planning stage to the final draft of the core network

The planning status of the core network published in July includes lines with a length of around 11,200 km (see map). However, it is not yet the final design of the hydrogen core network. The planning status initially shows various solution variants for the fulfillment of the transport tasks. The route variants shown will be further optimized until the application is submitted.

The publication also provided an opportunity for other potential hydrogen network operators to contribute additional infrastructure to the planning of the core network. These infrastructures must be technically capable of safely transporting hydrogen at the transmission level, and they must contribute to the transportation task resulting from the scenario. The optimization will result in the final draft of the hydrogen core network, which the TSOs are expected to submit to the BNetzA as part of a joint application in late fall. The TSOs expect the final hydrogen core network to be smaller than the planning status presented in the summer.

What still needs to be done

It is important that, by the time the core network is confirmed, a financing model suitable for the capital market is available that permits uniform and compatible network charges throughout Germany for the hydrogen ramp-up and enables the network operators to raise the financing needed to build the core network.

Source: Energy & Climate Protection Foundation (25.09.2023)