The Frankfurt/Rhine-Main metropolitan region will have its own regional distribution network for hydrogen: The regional utilities ENTEGA AG, Mainova AG, ESWE Versorgungs AG and Kraftwerke Mainz-Wiesbaden AG (KMW) as well as the transmission system operator Open Grid Europe GmbH (OGE) and the distribution system operators e-netz Südhessen AG and NRM Netzdienste Rhein-Main GmbH have now concluded a corresponding cooperation agreement.
It concerns the design of the new H2 regional grid "Rh2ein-Main Connect", which is to supply the metropolitan region with climate-neutral hydrogen through several connections to the H2 core grid from 2028, when the first sections go into operation.
"With a view to the goal of climate neutrality in Hesse by 2045 at the latest, we need to decide today how we want to supply industry and SMEs with climate-neutral heat and electricity in the future. In coordination with the plans to establish the hydrogen core network, we are taking this step today to build our own climate-neutral distribution network in Frankfurt/Rhine-Main together with the partners involved", explained Dr Marie-Luise Wolff, CEO of ENTEGA AG, on the occasion of the signing of the cooperation agreement in Wiesbaden on 20 March.
Regional significance for decarbonisation, heat transition and power generation
According to Dr. Jörg Bergmann, CEO of OGE, "H2ercules is part of the hydrogen core network that will open up important centres of consumption, such as the Rhine-Main region in particular". "For regional penetration, we need the distribution network operators to jointly enable decarbonisation using hydrogen for a broad group of customers."
For Peter Arnold, CEO of Mainova AG, green hydrogen plays a particularly important role in the heating transition and in achieving climate protection targets. A "determined start to hydrogen technology and the corresponding expansion of the infrastructure" are now important. "In the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main metropolitan region, we expect a hydrogen ramp-up before the end of this decade. To achieve this, Mainova and its partners involved will have to invest massively in the further distribution of hydrogen. Because we are already seeing great demand for climate-neutral energy from our customers", continued Arnold.
According to Dr Oliver Malerius, CEO of KMW AG, "forward-looking dimensioning of the H2 regional network" is important in order to meet the increasing demand for hydrogen in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate by 2045: "In close cooperation with the partners involved, consumption locations with high hydrogen demand, e.g. for the generation of CO2-neutral electricity and (process) heat, will be identified and developed in terms of pipeline technology in the future. These developed sites will also enable the efficient use of hydrogen in industry, commerce and private households for heat generation."
Rededication of the gas infrastructure from 2032 with continuously increasing H2 demand until 2045
The first sections of the H2 regional network "Rh2ein-Main Connect", which will be built by 2028, will then ensure the supply of hydrogen to early regional anchor customers and the new pipelines will be integrated into the protective strip of the existing natural gas network wherever possible. The local redistribution of hydrogen is to begin from 2032 and the focus will then also be on converting the existing gas infrastructure to the full use of hydrogen in order to achieve a gradual transition across the region.
For the year 2030, an annual hydrogen demand of around 5 TWh is forecast for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main metropolitan region, which is expected to increase to around 24 TWh per year by 2045. The cooperation partners are assuming investments totalling around 610 million euros for the planning and construction of the "Rh2ein-Main Connect" regional network by 2040.
"What we have agreed today is a genuine hydrogen network for the region with a total length of around 300 kilometres through the Rhine-Main region. The first sections of the initial network will have to be built by 2032, after which we will increasingly rededicate existing natural gas pipelines", concludes Jörg Höhler, Chief Technical Officer of ESWE Versorgungs AG. "We agree with all partners involved that hydrogen should be fed in both from long-distance pipelines and in a decentralised manner. If possible, we will also give industrial partners in the Rhine-Main region the opportunity to feed hydrogen produced by electrolysis from their plants into the new regional network. Furthermore, the expected investment costs for a regional hydrogen infrastructure cannot be borne by the distribution grid operators alone. Funding and financing programmes from the public and private sectors are required. This is where the state of Hesse can make a decisive contribution to launching the first public, climate-neutral hydrogen distribution network in Hesse together with the municipal regional suppliers."
(Quelle: OGE)
