In a trial project in the town of Holzwickede, close to Dortmund, the distribution network operator Westnetz, a division of the Eon company Westenergie AG, is testing the delivery of 100% green hydrogen to end users.

At the official launch on Thursday, North Rhine-Westphalian Economics Minister Mona Neubaur (Greens) declared: “Today we are traveling 500 essential meters towards climate neutrality.” The initiative might serve as a model for expanding the hydrogen economy.

In order to complete the project, Westnetz connected a hydrogen storage facility to an existing natural gas pipeline that had been severed from the distribution network. This has a maximum pressure of 42 bar and is filled with climate-neutral hydrogen.

Three businesses in Holzwickede are supplied from there, and they use the hydrogen to provide some of the space heating needed for their structures. The German Fuel Institute in Freiberg is funding the “H2HoWi” research and development project, which will last through the end of 2023.