Green hydrogen is one of the key energy sources of the future. It enables the storage of climate-friendly energy and its transport to where it is needed – for example, in industry, the energy sector or transport. This makes green hydrogen an indispensable element in achieving climate targets and linking the three sectors energy, mobility and industry. The EWE Group with its subsidiaries is one of the few companies in Germany to cover the entire hydrogen value chain.
Green Hydrogen from EWE – The Energy Carrier of the Future
How the Green Gas secures Climate TargetsEWE is committed to establishing a fully comprehensive hydrogen economy in the north-west and is one of the few companies actively engaged along the entire value chain: Production, storage, transport and utilisation of green hydrogen.
Establishing a hydrogen economy in the north-west
EWE is committed to establishing a fully comprehensive hydrogen economy. Green hydrogen is already being produced, transported and utilised in north-west Germany. Between the Ems, Weser and Elbe rivers, the region offers ideal conditions to become a key location for a strong European hydrogen economy:
A significant amount of renewable energy is generated in the north-west, primarily from onshore and offshore wind energy – the foundation for producing green hydrogen.
EWE has decades of experience in the production of renewable energies, in energy storage, transport and trading, as well as in the use of gaseous energy sources such as biogas and natural gas.
Numerous infrastructure components that are suitable for the transport and storage of green hydrogen are already in place – such as underground cavern storage facilities and an extensive, well-developed gas network.
EWE operates one of the largest gas distribution networks in Germany.
Thanks to its central location in Europe and connections via several harbours, green hydrogen can be imported on a large scale through various channels.
EWE can utilise a local and supra-regional partner network for a wide range of hydrogen projects.
The large-scale hydrogen project ‘Clean Hydrogen Coastline’
EWE is working on the development of a hydrogen economy within the ‘Clean Hydrogen Coastline’ project. It has been classified by the EU as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI), meaning it is a transnational project of major European significance. As part of this initiative, EWE is investing more than 800 million euros, including subsidies, in four large-scale hydrogen projects along the entire value chain, which EWE is implementing in parallel.
Production of green hydrogen
Green hydrogen enables the storage of renewable electricity generated in onshore and offshore wind farms in north-west Germany. This is achieved through electrolysis, where water is split into oxygen and hydrogen using climate-neutral electricity. The hydrogen produced can then be transported to consumers. The construction of hydrogen production facilities is a long-term endeavour aimed at continuously expanding electrolysis capacities and making a significant contribution to the energy transition.
EWE has been operating a test electrolyser in Huntorf, Lower Saxony, since 2019, which is connected to a hydrogen refuelling station. A 2-megawatt hydrogen production facility is already in operation in Cuxhaven.
Together with its subsidiary swb, EWE is currently constructing a second facility: a 10-megawatt electrolyser in Bremen.
As part of the large-scale ‘Clean Hydrogen Coastline’ project, one of Europe’s largest hydrogen production facilities is being developed in Emden, East Frisia. With a capacity of 320 megawatts, it will produce green hydrogen primarily for industrial and heavy-duty transport applications from 2028 onwards.
A second plant, with a 50-megawatt electrolysis capacity, is planned in Bremen. By replacing coal with green hydrogen in blast furnace operations, the steel industry will be able to reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 800,000 tonnes per year.
Storage of green hydrogen
Stored green hydrogen is available exactly when it is needed. Large-scale hydrogen storage enhances security of supply and grid stability. Underground salt caverns offer a safe and demand-driven way to store green hydrogen in large quantities. EWE has decades of expertise in this area.
The EWE subsidiary EWE GASSPEICHER GmbH operates 37 cavern storage facilities in north-west Germany and Brandenburg, with a total capacity of approximately two billion cubic metres. These account for 15% of Germany’s cavern storage facilities that are suitable for green hydrogen storage.
As part of the HyCAVmobil research project, EWE, together with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), successfully tested the optimal storage of green hydrogen in a small test cavern at its gas storage site in Rüdersdorf, Brandenburg.
These findings will be applied to a much larger project in the coming years: in Huntorf, Lower Saxony, EWE is converting a large-scale cavern storage facility, previously used for natural gas, into a green hydrogen storage site as part of the IPCEI ‘Clean Hydrogen Coastline’ project. Storage operations are scheduled to begin in 2027.
Transport of green hydrogen
Hydrogen transport networks connect production and storage facilities with consumers. These networks are being developed partly in parallel with the natural gas grid and partly by repurposing existing natural gas infrastructure. The hydrogen core network, comparable to a motorway, will link key hydrogen locations, while the distribution network, similar to local roads, will deliver green hydrogen primarily to industrial consumers.
EWE’s subsidiary GTG Nord, along with other partners, is planning to develop a hydrogen core network. EWE NETZ already operates one of Germany’s largest gas distribution networks, much of which is suitable for green hydrogen.
As part of the ‘H2 Pipeline Infrastructure North-West’ project within ‘Clean Hydrogen Coastline’, EWE is optimising regional gas infrastructure for green hydrogen. By constructing and repurposing multiple pipeline sections, EWE is ensuring connections to the future European hydrogen transport network.
Since early 2024, the ‘Zukunftsleitung’, which can be translated as the ‘Future Pipeline’, has been in operation in north-west Germany. This 70-kilometre pipeline was designed for hydrogen from the beginning and could become a key component of Germany’s hydrogen core network in 2028. A connection to Dutch hydrogen networks is the next step planned.
Utilisation of green hydrogen
Energy-intensive industries such as steel, glass and ammonia production cannot be fully decarbonised using renewable electricity alone. However, switching to green hydrogen can significantly reduce CO₂ emissions. Green hydrogen can also replace fossil fuels in heavy-duty transport, including trains, trucks and buses.
EWE aims to supply industrial partners, such as those in the steel and chemical industries, with green hydrogen for climate-neutral production.
In Bremen, EWE and its subsidiary swb are advancing hydrogen production and utilisation at ArcelorMittal within the HyBit and Clean Hydrogen Coastline projects. Additionally, part of the green hydrogen produced from renewable energy will be used to decarbonise heavy-duty transport and ensure a sustainable power supply through future hydrogen power plants.
