We are on the threshold of a new era in energy supply – a future with hydrogen. A secure supply requires strategic partnerships, new approaches to generation and a modern infrastructure. At EnBW, we are among the pioneers and drivers of the H₂ future, using our expertise and experience to help make the energy transition a reality.
Öhringen: 100 percent hydrogen in the gas grid
Since November 2021, tests have been conducted here that involve adding a mix of hydrogen to the natural gas grid. The aim of the follow-up project is to demonstrate that safe and reliable operation is still possible even with 100% hydrogen in the gas grid.
Building the hydrogen economy is a monumental task. We are undertaking the transformation at all levels – from generation and transportation to storage and distribution. We have also set ourselves ambitious targets for our own power plants and plan to switch to hydrogen by 2035.
Wind farms and solar parks have to be switched off time and again whenever too much electricity is generated at the same time. Electrolyzers convert green electricity and water into hydrogen directly on-site, enabling energy to be stored during generation peaks and transported to wherever it is needed.
Overall, the potential of renewable energies in Germany will not be sufficient to meet the emerging demand through domestic hydrogen production. Imports will therefore play a key role in meeting hydrogen demand – with an import share of 50–70% as per the national hydrogen strategy in 2030. To ensure security of supply, various countries of origin and import routes are being considered.
The hydrogen core network transports the hydrogen over long distances to where it is needed. Our subsidiaries terranets bw and ONTRAS are continuing to develop it. Yet an efficient H₂ infrastructure capable of meeting demand is also needed at distribution grid level. Our distribution system operators, such as Netze BW, are laying the groundwork for this transformation and planning the infrastructure so that it can meet the demand for the energy source of the future.
Large-scale storage facilities in underground salt caverns are an important part of the hydrogen infrastructure. The demand for H2 storage in Germany will rise because it is a reliable way of covering fluctuating energy needs. We will therefore eventually need to create new storage capacity and repurpose existing storage facilities.
Hydrogen is highly versatile. In the future, for example, it is expected to heat blast furnaces and serve as a raw material for industry. Hydrogen will also play an important role in generating electricity and heating, especially when the sun is not shining and there is little wind. We are gearing up for the energy source of the future here with our fuel switch projects.
As an infrastructure provider, we have already launched many regional and local hydrogen projects and real-world laboratories, from offshore generation to H₂-ready gas power plants. This is how we are actively helping to develop the national hydrogen market.
Hydrogen trading activities
To supply Germany with hydrogen, trade agreements are concluded with international partners for hydrogen deliveries, which are landed in Germany by ship.
Hydrogen generation – HyTechHafen Rostock
rostock EnergyPort cooperation GmbH, which was founded together with our partners RWE, Rheinenergie and Rostock Port in July 2022, has set itself the goal of building and upgrading a sustainable infrastructure for green hydrogen production and distribution. To this end, an electrolysis plant for the production of climate-neutral (green) hydrogen is set to be built in the seaport of Rostock. The hydrogen produced will then be fed into a national distribution network, but will also be made available to local consumers.
- H₂ generation capacity: 100MW
Hydrogen generation – H2Mare
Offshore wind turbines produce green electricity – so far, so good. In the future, offshore plants could potentially also produce green hydrogen and in turn other carbon-free energy sources. EnBW is participating in the H₂Mare research project, which is investigating the potential of hydrogen production in offshore wind farms.
Transmission grid – doing hydrogen
With the doing hydrogen hub in eastern Germany, we are bringing together projects from innovative producers, gas transmission system operators and large consumers. The project – which we are running together with our partners Enertrag, APEX, Vattenfall and Cemex – serves as a connecting element, enabling us to create extensive links between the economic regions of Central Germany and the Rostock region as well as the Berlin metropolitan area and Eisenhüttenstadt. Hydrogen projects in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Berlin, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt are set to be linked to form a high-performance hub.
- Network length: 616 km
Green Octopus Central Germany (storage)
A cavern storage facility with a working gas volume of 50 million cubic meters stabilizes the hydrogen infrastructure and maintains a balance between supply and demand. With around 305 kilometers of pipelines, GO! will begin safely transporting hydrogen in 2027.
- Storage volume: 50 million m³
Hydrogen generation - Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park
The Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park is a large-scale project for the intelligent generation of green hydrogen as well as its storage, transportation, marketing and use. Our subsidiaries VNG and Ontras, together with the consortium partners Terrawatt, Uniper and the DVGW, are testing the entire value chain of green hydrogen on an industrial scale for the first time. A large-scale electrolysis plant with a capacity of 30 MW produces green hydrogen using renewable electricity from a nearby wind park. Stored temporarily in a specially constructed salt cavern, the green hydrogen can be fed into the hydrogen network of the chemical industry based in central Germany via a converted gas pipeline and used for urban mobility solutions in the future.
- H₂ generation capacity: 30MW
Transmission grid – Green Octopus Central Germany
The Central German chemical triangle needs green hydrogen, as do the industries in Saxony-Anhalt and the steel region in Salzgitter in Lower Saxony. Green Octopus Central Germany (GO!) is the future transport route and storage option for this hydrogen. GO! connects the regions and integrates the future hydrogen storage facility in Bad Lauchstädt.
- Grid length: 305 km
Transmission grid
Several transmission system operators are planning a high-performance pipeline system for hydrogen extending from the Baltic Sea to Baden-Württemberg, thus opening up pipeline-based supply options for large quantities of hydrogen for industry. The first pipeline sections are set to be converted from natural gas to hydrogen as early as 2025, thus reducing carbon emissions in the long term.
- Network length: 1,100 km
- Further information
Gas transmission grid – NET and SEL
Commissioned in 2022, the approximately 28-kilometer-long Neckarenztal pipeline, or NET for short, transports more than just natural gas. Thanks to special welding processes and the use of hydrogen-compatible steel, the terranets bw pipeline is also H2-ready. The EnBW subsidiary is also planning another hydrogen-compatible transport route in the form of the 250-kilometer South German natural gas pipeline (SEL). It will be the first hydrogen pipeline in Baden-Württemberg with a connection to the European Hydrogen Backbone and is expected to supply EnBW’s gas-fired power plants with hydrogen from the early 2030s.
RHYn Interco
The aim of this cross-border project involving the EnBW subsidiary terranets bw, the distribution system operator badenovaNETZE and the French gas infrastructure operator GRTgaz is to connect southern Germany to the French hydrogen grid. By 2029, the construction of a new connecting pipeline to France and the conversion of existing gas pipelines will connect major customers near Freiburg. By converting a further section, the network could be extended to Offenburg by 2035.
NETZlabor H₂-100 Öhringen
Since November 2021, tests have been conducted here that involve adding a mix of hydrogen to the natural gas grid. The aim of the follow-up project is to demonstrate that safe and reliable operation is still possible even with 100% hydrogen in the gas grid.
- Blending ratio: 100%
Hydrogen generation – H2ORIZON
The H₂ORIZON project is an impressive example of what sector coupling can look like in practice. In a joint project between our subsidiary ZEAG and the German Aerospace Center, green hydrogen is produced using renewable electricity from the adjacent wind farm and then used at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen. This is how the sectors of renewable energies, hydrogen and storage applications, space travel, heat generation and mobility are successfully coupled with one another.
Heilbronn combined heat and power plant
The Heilbronn plant is located in an industrial and commercial park on the outskirts of the city on the Neckar. It is being operated as a combined heat and power plant. With an electrical output of 1,000 MW and a thermal output of 320 MW capable of being drawn off, it is one of EnBW’s large-scale hard coal power plants.
- Energy source: hard coal
- In the planning stage and under construction
- Find out more about Heilbronn combined heat and power plant
Stuttgart-Münster combined heat and power plant
EnBW is one step closer to achieving the aims of the energy transition with the construction of a new gas turbine plant for generating electricity and heating based on more climate-friendly natural gas at its Stuttgart-Münster site. The fuel switch to more climate-friendly natural gas is just a bridging technology on the way to energy generation using green gases such as hydrogen produced from renewable sources.
- Energy source: gas
- Active on the market
- Find out more about Stuttgart-Münster combined heat and power plant
Altbach/Deizisau combined heat and power plant
Altbach/Deizisau combined heat and power plant is an important economic factor in the region for ensuring a reliable, economical and environmentally friendly energy supply. EnBW operates several plants here with a total electrical output of around 1,200 megawatts.
- Energy source: gas
- In the planning stage and under construction
- Find out more about Altbach/Deizisau combined heat and power plant
Hydrogen generation – H₂-Wyhlen real-world laboratory
Together with our partner Energiedienst, one of the largest production capacities for hydrogen in southern Germany is set to be built here in the near future. At the Grenzach-Wyhlen site, green and therefore climate-neutral hydrogen is set to be produced using renewable electricity from the nearby hydropower plant. The H₂-Wyhlen project received a positive funding decision as part of the “Real-world laboratories of the energy transition” funding program set up by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK). EnBW and Energiedienst are already jointly operating a 1 MW alkaline power-to-gas plant at the Wyhlen site, which was funded as part of a flagship project launched by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs.
- H₂ generation capacity: 6 MW
Hydrogen buses for Düsseldorf
In the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, fuel cell buses are set to provide more climate-friendly public transportation in the future. To this end, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, whose largest shareholder is EnBW, is investing in hydrogen technology, with an electrolyzer set to produce green hydrogen on-site. The electricity used for this purpose comes from the neighboring waste incineration plant.
Complete value chain: greenHyBB
Under the project name greenHyBB (= green hydrogen for Brandenburg), VNG, ONTRAS and EnBW want to establish a complete value chain for green hydrogen in the Lusatia region, with EnBW planning to build wind farms and solar parks for this purpose. These will produce green electricity in the region and feed it into the public grid. An electrolyzer, also built regionally by the project partners, will draw the green electricity generated from the grid and produce hydrogen by means of electrolysis.
The green hydrogen produced in this way can be made available to companies based in Brandenburg by connecting the electrolysis plant to nearby H₂ pipelines. Surplus hydrogen can also be transported to other regions via the emerging European Hydrogen Backbone.
Gardelegen project
In Gardelegen in the Altmark region (Saxony-Anhalt), EnBW is planning a pioneering energy project that combines renewable energies, hydrogen and infrastructure with decarbonization and regional value creation. At the heart of the project are an onshore wind farm and an electrolyzer which will produce green hydrogen from the electricity generated by the wind turbines.
There are also plans to use the waste heat from the electrolyzer via a local heating network to decarbonize the public and private heating supply in Gardelegen.
Stuttgart-Gaisburg combined heat and power plant
Stuttgart-Gaisburg combined heat and power plant has been fundamentally modernized in recent years so that it can generate even more eco-friendly and efficient heat for Stuttgart’s district heating grid in the future. A much smaller gas heating plant that is efficient and generates fewer emissions has completely replaced the mainly coal-fired combined heat and power plant in order to fulfill the peak and reserve function that is so important to the Stuttgart/mid-Neckar district heating region.
- Energy source: gas
- Active on the market
Find out more about Stuttgart-Gaisburg combined heat and power plant
Source: EnBW, FNB Gas
EnBW and its subsidiaries work closely together in the field of hydrogen, making it possible to share experiences that lead to the development of groundbreaking solutions.