Hydrogen Grid Central Germany

The demand for green hydrogen and its production capacities will increase rapidly in Central Germany by 2040. A regional distribution network around 1,100 km long in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia is needed to connect producers and consumers of this climate-friendly energy source. These are two results of the “Hydrogen Network Central Germany 2.0” study presented in 2024. This was carried out jointly by the European Metropolitan Region of Middle Germany, the HYPOS hydrogen network, the DBI Group and INFRACON on behalf of 54 private and public sector partners in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.

Based on specific demand surveys and area potential analyses, the study forecasts hydrogen demand of up to 39 terawatt hours (TWh) in the industrial, commercial, trade and services, household, energy and mobility sectors by 2030. This will more than double to up to 88 TWh by 2040. More than a third of the forecast demand will be accounted for by each of the industrial and energy sectors. These figures already exceed the level of demand for Middle Germany determined as part of the German government's “National Hydrogen Strategy”.

The study also confirms that the region has extensive potential for the local production of green hydrogen. An electrolysis capacity of 2.9 to 3.7 gigawatts (GW) is expected by 2030. Ten years later, this is expected to be between 7.1 GW and 11.0 GW. This will be made possible by the further increase in the expansion potential for renewable energies in Middle Germany, which the study also examined using three scenarios (conservative, moderate, ambitious). In the moderate scenario, the installed capacity of wind energy of the study area increases by a factor of 6 to around 34 GW by 2040, while ground-mounted photovoltaics increases by a factor of 8 to 23 GW. As a result, one third of the regional hydrogen demand in 2040 can be covered by domestic generation in the study area.

In order to connect consumers and producers of green hydrogen at the 79 connection points reported by the study partners, the planned hydrogen network for Middle Germany comprises 42 pipeline sections with a total length of 1,100 km. In close coordination with the 13 network operators involved, the authors of the study are proposing a phased implementation of the network for the years 2030, 2035, 2040 and 2045. Around 51 percent of the route (565 km) is to be realized by converting existing natural gas pipelines. This and the parallel laying of new sections in existing route corridors will significantly reduce the associated costs and planning periods. The authors of the study currently estimate the costs for the Middle German hydrogen network at around one billion euros. This represents a saving of 41 percent or 720 million euros compared to a completely new network.