"Clean Hydrogen Coastline" now at a European level

The German Federal Ministries of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) confirmed today that the north German “Clean Hydrogen Coastline” project has qualified for the second level of the IPCEI process, in which selected projects are to be combined with other European project ideas. The connected HyPerLink project has also qualified for this next step.

With this announcement, the federal government is underlining the importance of the projects, as well as the northwest region and its players, for a future domestic and European hydrogen economy. Industrial partners ArcelorMittal Bremen, EWE, FAUN, Gasunie, swb and TenneT are delighted to be jointly involved in the European process. Because of Clean Hydrogen Coastline’s manifold points of contact – with the Dutch partners as well as projects in Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia – there is broad potential for a European “Important Project of Common European Interest” (IPCEI). This would enable the partners to take a decisive step towards establishing themselves as a key element in a future European hydrogen market.

The partners took part in the Federal Ministries’ expression of interest procedure in February. More than 200 project ideas were submitted to the ministries in total. They were rigorously reviewed by the BMWi and the BMVI with the support of the project sponsor, Jülich, as well as NOW.

If the Clean Hydrogen Coastline project has an appropriate support framework, the partners plan to integrate up to 400 megawatts of electrolysis capacity with the corresponding hydrogen storage into the energy supply system by 2026. The hydrogen – generated, for example, by offshore power – will be used for climate-neutral steel production in the steel centre of Bremen, as well as for other purposes. Moreover, Clean Hydrogen Coastline can lay the groundwork for the operation of up to 12,000 hydrogen-powered utility vehicles by 2026. Optimisation of hydrogen gas infrastructures in the northwest would make it possible to connect the green gas between the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Should the support programme be approved, the project could start in the second quarter of next year.