Evonik completes 50 km green hydrogen pipeline in Germany
Germany-based chemical company Evonik has built a green hydrogen pipeline more than 50 km long that extends in several sections from Legden in northern North Rhine-Westphalia through the Marl Chemical Park to the Gelsenkirchen refinery site.
The former natural gas pipeline, approximately 41 km long, has been converted to hydrogen. A new, approximately 3 km pipeline crosses the Marl Chemical Park. At the property boundary, it is connected to a new, approximately 10 km hydrogen pipeline to the refinery in Gelsenkirchen-Scholven. The hydrogen pipeline enables the transport of green hydrogen, the production of which is based on several hundred megawatts of electrolysis capacity in northern Germany. The electricity required for this comes from renewable energy sources.
Climate-neutrally produced hydrogen is considered key to the energy transition in Germany and the pipeline creates the technical prerequisites for this. It is said to be one of the first connecting lines to the nationwide hydrogen core network, which is being gradually built up. The now completed connection also includes a section through which the fossil fuel natural gas previously flowed. A team from Evonik Pipelines has converted this section to the transport of hydrogen over the past few months.
The pipeline is part of the GET H2 Nukleus project, which aims to connect the climate-neutral production of green hydrogen in northern Germany with industrial customers in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. Evonik is driving this forward together with other companies from across the entire value chain of the hydrogen economy. GET H2 is an initiative of companies, municipalities, and institutions. Its overarching goal is to actively contribute to the development of an integrated hydrogen economy.
“In almost two years of intensive project work, we and our partners have successfully converted a natural gas pipeline for hydrogen operation and built new sections. This is a success we are all very pleased about. The dedicated collaboration of all those involved made this possible. It is a special achievement that also underscores our innovative strength in the field of hydrogen infrastructure,” says Andreas Cieslik, Head of the Pipeline Business at Evonik.
For the Marl Chemical Park, the pipeline provides a new opportunity to increasingly use climate-neutrally produced hydrogen in the future. “The Marl Chemical Park is one of the largest chemical sites in Germany. The direct integration into the hydrogen pipeline is a great addition to the site’s already extensive hydrogen infrastructure and represents future-oriented, sustainable development,” says Thomas Basten, Head of the Chemical Park.
Basten emphasises the dual role of hydrogen in the chemical industry: “Hydrogen has always played an important role for chemical companies in the production of fertilisers, paints, and disinfectants. In the future, it will also play an increasingly important role as an energy carrier, which can also be stored in this form. This will become increasingly important with the further expansion of renewable energy generation. With our commitment, we are resolutely driving forward the expansion of the nationwide climate-neutral hydrogen infrastructure.”
Currently, climate-neutrally produced hydrogen is only available in comparatively small quantities and is not yet price-competitive. The majority of the hydrogen required nationwide is still produced using processes that utilize fossil energy sources such as coal, petroleum, or natural gas. Projects, plans, and initiatives aim to create more capacity for competitively produced and climate-neutrally produced hydrogen. Ultimately, a significant price reduction can only be achieved by scaling the volume and the resulting imports.
The pipeline further strengthens the Marl Chemical Park’s role as a hub for hydrogen activities. Evonik recently announced the establishment of a new start-up: a new facility will combine CO2 captured from the air with 200 tonnes/year of green hydrogen in an integrated process to produce green methanol. Evonik’s Rheticus research project is also based at the Chemical Park. It uses hydrogen in artificial photosynthesis to produce specialty chemicals from CO2 with the help of bacteria in a pilot plant. The company is also investing a low double-digit million euro amount in Marl to build a pilot plant for the production of its proprietary anion exchange membrane, Duraion. The membrane is a key component of AEM water electrolysis and has the potential to enable cost-effective production of green hydrogen. A hydrogen filling station is also located at the Chemical Park.
Hydrogen has played an important role in production at the Marl Chemical Park for 85 years. The site currently processes approximately 25,000 cu m/hour of hydrogen and is engaged in further potential development projects. These involve producing basic chemicals from hydrogen and CO2 in order to become less dependent on crude oil-based raw materials.
