Baden-Württemberg, a state in southwestern Germany, is launching a hydrogen requirement analysis to determine current and reliable figures for future demand.
The Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Industry is leading the effort in conjunction with various sectors to assess the hydrogen demand in the state, which is expected to be significantly higher in 2030 than previously assumed. The state-wide campaign includes a communication campaign with information events, targeted needs assessment with the help of an online questionnaire and a scientific analysis with the aim of getting a more complete and clear picture of the development of demand. The concerted action to determine the hydrogen requirement aims to bundle existing activities and use synergies. The planned term is four to six months, and the aim of the campaign is to reach many companies with information, to motivate them to report their future hydrogen requirements and thus to provide the largest possible and most reliable database for further hydrogen infrastructure planning.
Hydrogen is a central building block for the energy transition and climate protection. The supply of green hydrogen and connection to a national and European hydrogen network is essential for the power supply and the competitiveness of the industrial location. In order to be able to plan the networks in and to Baden-Württemberg, the exact requirements must be known. The state is starting three coordinated processes: a communication campaign, a targeted needs assessment, and a scientific analysis to create a more complete and clear picture of the development of demand. The concerted action aims to bundle existing activities and use synergies.
The focus of the campaign is the targeted assessment of needs with the help of an online questionnaire, which is open to all companies. The evaluation of the questionnaire should provide information on how hydrogen must be distributed and where hydrogen production should be promoted in the country itself. The joint campaign is supported by the Ministry of the Environment, the Baden-Württemberg Chambers of Industry and Commerce, transmission system operator terranets bw, Transnet BW, and the industry. The concerted action aims to determine and communicate the hydrogen demand in Baden-Württemberg, which is crucial for infrastructure planning and for connecting the state to a hydrogen network as quickly as possible.
According to the forecast, hydrogen will account for around 15 percent of final energy consumption in Baden-Württemberg in 2040 (assuming 197 terawatt hours (TWh) of final energy consumption in BW, of which 30 TWh will be hydrogen). The greatest hydrogen demand occurs in the energy sector, and substantial import capacities and a line-bound infrastructure (pipelines) are necessary to cover the demand, because Baden-Württemberg will only be able to produce green hydrogen itself to a lesser extent using electrolysis.
Overall, the hydrogen requirement analysis will provide the largest possible and most reliable database for further hydrogen infrastructure planning in Baden-Württemberg. Determining and communicating the hydrogen demand is crucial for infrastructure planning and for connecting the state to a hydrogen network as quickly as possible.
