06/21/2023
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
The H2 supply of the Bavarian industry take six companies from the energy industry and chemical industry in the eye - with the formation of the initiative H2 Import Consortium Bavaria.
The ramp-up of the hydrogen market in 2030 on Bavarian soil, the companies have set a goal. Along the value chain for hydrogen - from production to transport to application - the companies of the freshly founded initiative "H2 Import Consortium Bavaria" want to coordinate with each other in their respective steps.
On board are the Bavarian long-distance network operator Bayernets, Bayernoil Raffineriegesellschaft, the chemical group Wacker Chemie and the PVC and caustic soda producer Westlake Vinnolit. From Austria, the gas transmission and distribution system operator Gas Connect Austria and Verbund AG, the largest hydroelectric power producer in Europe, are also participating.
Background: the sufficient hydrogen supply of the southern federal state is considered to be questionable, since the large electrolysers are built especially in the north of Germany. Due to the immediate vicinity of large offshore wind farms, they can be fed with green electricity without long transport lines. Bavaria, on the other hand, is in the lower midfield compared to other German states, if one looks at the installed capacity of renewable energies in comparison to the area and electricity consumption.
In addition, Bavaria's connection to the European hydrogen network planned by the European long-distance network operators - the "EU Hydrogen Backbone" - is not planned until 2035. Only five years later, however, the Bavarian economy should be climate-neutral and thus also have largely converted to hydrogen.
Focus on southern hydrogen import corridor
The now founded "Initiative H2-Import-Konsortium Bayern" is currently focusing, according to its own statement, on a southern part of the hydrogen backbone - the hydrogen import corridor called "SouthH2 Corridor". Germany, Austria and Italy agreed on this in May (we reported). This corridor is to be 3,300 kilometers long, start in North Africa and transport more than 4 million tons of hydrogen per year northward. It is expected to be commissioned in 2030 and is being planned by Bayernets, Gas Connect Austria, Trans Austria Gasleitung and Snam (Italy). The project will focus on using existing natural gas infrastructure converted for hydrogen transport, including additional new construction if necessary, Bayernets announced in May. More than 70 percent of the pipeline is expected to consist of existing and rededicated natural gas pipelines.
The initiative H2-Import-Konsortium Bayern sees for the realization of the hydrogen import the policy demanded. These would have to solve first the regulatory basic conditions and existing bureaucratic hurdles. The initiative also misses sufficient financial government incentives in the ramp-up phase.
Author: Davina Spohn
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