On Friday 21 June, the European Commission announced that it had approved a German scheme with a budget of around €3 billion to support the construction of the Hydrogen Core Network (HCN), including the repurposing of existing pipelines for hydrogen transport, and building new hydrogen pipelines and compressor stations.
The HCN will help to structure the hydrogen pipelines that will transport hydrogen over long distances in Germany, and will be part of the European hydrogen infrastructure linking several Member States.
The HCN’s construction and operation will be financed by hydrogen transmission system operators (TSOs) selected by the German federal network agency, Bundesnetzagentur.
The aid will take the form of a State guarantee that will allow the TSOs to obtain more advantageous loans, granted by the public development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau to cover initial losses during the HCN’s ramp-up phase, during which only a small number of users are expected. In addition, the network will be able to offer attractive prices to encourage new users.
The first major pipeline should be operational from 2025, and the entire HCN should be operational by 2032. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)