General – Hydrogen Pipeline
Pipeline operators Gascade and Fluxys are stepping up the pace on plans for a green hydrogen pipeline in the North Sea by applying to the European Commission to qualify for fast-track approvals and funding.
Germany and the European Union are seeking to shift future energy production more to renewables and to produce, import and market clean hydrogen, derived from carbon-free wind and solar power, to eliminate climate-warming gases.
The two pipeline infrastructure companies said in a joint statement they are seeking to help to speed up the development of a hydrogen economy.
Germany’s Gascade and Belgium’s Fluxys are seeking Project of Common Interest (PCI) status from the EU, under which they could benefit from accelerated permissioning procedures and funding. Financial details were not disclosed.
Their 400 km pipeline, called AquaDuctus, could become a collecting path, or ‘backbone’, for electricity output from offshore wind power production sites that would be converted on-site into clean hydrogen via electrolysis plants.
