(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s gas grid operators have requested approval to build a 10,000-kilometer (6,214 miles) hydrogen network, with first pipes set to be operational next year.
Germany is pressing on with attempts to establish a hydrogen market. Operators submitted an application for the €19.7 billion ($21.4 billion) project on Monday, which envisages connecting key industrial hubs with electrolyzers and storage sites. Germany hopes to eventually replace most of its gas needs with hydrogen, which can be made using green electricity.
The application marks “a decisive step toward building hydrogen infrastructure,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement. Barbara Fischer, managing director of Germany’s Association of Gas Transmission System Operators, said it solves industry’s “chicken-and-egg problem,” with many players hesitating to invest in an unknown market.
Germany has one of the most ambitious hydrogen strategies in Europe. The bloc’s spending watchdog warned last week that the EU is unlikely to meet its goal of creating a 20 million-ton market — split evenly between local production and imports — by the end of the decade. A report by the European Court of Auditors criticized the EU’s hydrogen plan as not being based on robust analysis, but political will.
The plans include building new lines as well as repurposing natural gas infrastructure for about 60% of the length, and should be finalized by 2032.
Germany aims to embed its core network into a wider European hydrogen infrastructure to reach the bloc’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050, with border crossing points installed early on, according to the economy ministry. The nation expects to cover up to 70% of its demand via imports by 2030, and produce 10 gigawatts of the clean gas domestically.
The Federal Network Agency said it will process the application within two months if it meets legal requirements.
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