There is reason enough for the northern German states to drive the hydrogen economy forward, given that they have a virtually inexhaustible supply of renewable energy. Thanks to 2,400 km of coastline, numerous onshore and offshore wind turbines, and a high number of solar generators, they are the largest producers of green energy in Germany.

This is why the business development organisations of the five northern states joined forces in 2020 to make better use of this excess of green energy by forming the green hydrogen initiative HY-5. It aims to turn northern Germany into a powerful emerging region for green hydrogen in the heart of Europe, supporting both the German National Hydrogen Strategy as well as the North German Hydrogen Strategy. As part of the European Hydrogen Backbone, a network connecting important hubs and cities, the region is well on track to achieve the goals that have been set.

The business development organisations of the five northern states [in Germany] joined forces in 2020 to make better use of this excess of green energy by forming the green hydrogen initiative HY-5.

Long-standing expertise  
The conditions are ideal as the projects can rely on a strong economic backbone and a wealth of knowledge. Equal in size to Denmark and the Netherlands combined, the five states are home to 15 million people who generate a gross domestic product (GDP) of around €625mn, which would put the region in eighth place in a European Union (EU) country ranking.

The Port of Hamburg is not only Germany’s biggest harbour but also the third largest in Europe, making it a powerful future hub for the import and export of green hydrogen. More than a dozen additional seaports with logistics and import terminals lie at the heart of future hydrogen markets along the European North and Baltic Sea coasts, providing a strong maritime transportation network and a network of hubs for the import and export of hydrogen.

In addition, the northern German federal states have long-held positions in renewable energy and are drivers of the energy transition in the country. As trailblazers in wind energy, they bring experience and expertise in sustainable technologies as well as a high-performance infrastructure, and play a major role in shaping technical progress in this field. In collaboration with partners from industry, science, associations and politics, this expertise is now being channelled into the production and commercial use of green hydrogen along the entire value chain.

Furthermore, companies located in the area, ranging from steel and automotive to chemicals and the food sector, have stepped up their research and development to utilise green hydrogen in their production processes. 

Fig 1: The HY-5 region in northern Germany, showing proximity to other key countries and North Sea renewables operations
Source: HY-5
 

Developing a sustainable hydrogen economy 
However, green hydrogen is still in short supply. Therefore, the focus is on ramping up capacities for production and import. A key project in this context is the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub (HGHH). Located in the Port of Hamburg, Hamburg Energiewerke is working with Luxcara to build an electrolyser with a capacity of 100 MW and the potential for future expansion. If all permits are granted on time, hydrogen production is scheduled to start in 2026.

The HGHH project is funded by EU grants under the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for hydrogen. More initiatives in the northern states will profit from IPCEI subsidies – out of the 60+ projects initially shortlisted, almost half were located in northern Germany. The selected projects cover the entire value chain of the hydrogen economy and will have an outstanding impact on the environment. Forecasts say that Hamburg alone will save around 600,000 t/y of CO₂ from 2028 onwards thanks to the use of green hydrogen.

Another project focused on generating energy with green hydrogen which will also receive IPCEI subsidies is Aqua Ventus in Schleswig-Holstein. The initiative has set its sights on using electricity from offshore wind farms to operate electrolysers also installed at sea on an industrial scale. Plans envisage setting up electrolysis units in the North Sea with a total capacity of 10 GW, enough to produce 1mn tonnes of green hydrogen.

Regional lighthouse projects  
Another vital building block of the hydrogen strategy is the land-based Brunsbüttel LNG terminal in Schleswig-Holstein. It is planned to be operational by 2026 and will contribute to the establishment of an infrastructure for hydrogen and green gases in the future.

In Niedersachsen, the GET H₂ project is underway to supply the necessary infrastructure for hydrogen use. By 2025, the partners BP, Evonik, Nowega, OGE, RWE Generation and others aim to jointly establish the first publicly accessible hydrogen infrastructure. The GET H₂ Nukleus project connects the production of green hydrogen with industrial consumers in Niedersachsen and Nordrhein-Westfalen, the German state to the south of Lower Saxony. The 130 km network from Lingen to Gelsenkirchen is set to become the first hydrogen network in the regulated sector, with non-discriminatory access and transparent prices. The building blocks of GET H₂ Nukleus are also eligible for EU funding as an IPCEI.

Less than 100 km to the north-east, the Clean Hydrogen Coastline in Bremen and Niedersachsen bundles various projects along the entire value chain, from electrolysis and use in the metal industry through to hydrogen filling stations. The industry partners intend to build 400 MW of electrolysis capacity which will, for example, be used for climate-neutral steel production in Bremen.

In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the other German states of Brandenburg, Berlin, Sachsen and Sachsen-Anhalt, Doing Hydrogen marks the launch of a platform for the hydrogen economy in eastern Germany. This hydrogen hub initiative connects projects set up by innovative producers, transmission system operators and large consumers. The aim is to build a 616 km-long pipeline system to link together hydrogen projects in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin, Sachsen and Sachsen-Anhalt.

Hamburg, Bremen, and Niedersachsen are also home to a future-oriented project in the field of aviation. With WOPLiN, Airbus wants to make a substantial contribution to achieving global climate targets, as the aviation industry accounts for around 3% of global CO₂ emissions. For this reason, Airbus – one of the largest employers in the metropolitan region – has launched the ZEROe aircraft concept, which aims to significantly reduce emissions. The company is currently developing three different prototypes using hydrogen for propulsion for medium-haul aircraft, one of which is set to be built. They include a 2,000-plus mile airframe powered by two hybrid-hydrogen turbofan engines, a 1,000-mile plus airframe powered by two hybrid-hydrogen turboprop engines driving eight-bladed propellors, and a 2,000-mile-plus blended-wing airframe powered by two hybrid-hydrogen turbofan engines. All three have a liquid hydrogen storage and distribution system. A fourth fully-electrical concept is powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Research network 
Research on hydrogen technologies has been conducted in the region for 30 years, and initiatives at state level have long-established networks. All five states benefit from dedicated hydrogen pipelines, geological underground formations such as caverns, and a developed natural gas network infrastructure that offer favourable conditions for intermediate storage and transport.

Numerous other partners are also on board. Within a radius of about 200 km, scientists are active at two dozen universities and universities of applied sciences, over 20 government-supported Fraunhofer Institutes, Helmholtz centres, energy research networks, and the DLR (German Aerospace Centre).

Several hundred companies are involved in the North German Hydrogen Strategy, ranging from global players to innovative start-ups and specialists. Highlights include the northern German joint project ITZ Nord. Based at locations in Hamburg, Bremen, Bremerhaven and Stade, it is designed to provide a new type of development, research and testing environment in the aviation and shipping sectors, especially for start-ups and SMEs. It is funded by the federal government with around €70mn. In addition, the H₂ StartUp Accelerator launched in 2022 is also geared towards networking and promoting start-ups. And much more is on the horizon.

Together, all these activities and stakeholders act in concert to create a green hydrogen economy in northern Germany as a European sustainability hub that actively drives forward future technologies, to establish the region as a hotspot on the European hydrogen map.

• Further reading: ‘EC funding totalling nearly €17bn will support European energy transition projects’. The European Commission has approved state funding to support the construction of a long-distance pipeline transport network for hydrogen in Germany, the deployment of two bottom-fixed wind farms offshore France, and the roll-out of biogenic carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in Sweden.
• The problem with strategies for green hydrogen in Europe is the lack of a unified approach that could also look to Africa as a potential supplier. So says Davide Chiaroni, Full Professor of Strategy & Marketing at Politecnico di Milano and co-founder of its Energy & Strategy research centre, taking a closer look at Europe’s hydrogen paradox – balancing necessity, sustainability and economic feasibility.