The two gas network operators GASCADE and ONTRAS intend to provide a strong platform for East Germany’s hydrogen economy through the doing hydrogen project.
doing hydrogen will support the German hydrogen industry and is the largest planned hydrogen project in East Germany to date.
doing hydrogen is a platform that connects creative producers, remote gas network operators, and large consumers through their projects. By 2026, East Germany will have a climate-neutral hydrogen (H2) hub. The H2-Transport System, which GASCADE and ONTRAS intend to build, serves as a connecting element in this regard.
This transportation system will be composed of around two-thirds existing natural gas infrastructure and one-third new H2-cables. Thus, a 475-kilometer-long start network will be created, connecting production and consumption hubs in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Berlin.
The significance of the project was also recognized by the Federal Ministry of Economics. doing hydrogen has made the shortlist of projects that have applied for an IPCEIg (Important Project of Common European Interest).
GASCADE Managing Director Christoph von dem Bussche explains: “Together we can initiate the rapid development of a hydrogen economy in East Germany. With 475 kilometers of starting network, we can quickly build up large H2 capacities and also expand them internationally.”
The doing hydrogen project represents the connecting platform and is open to expansion by individual new partners as well as for connections with other projects. “We have an intensive exchange with different projects and regions in order to use synergy potentials and to pursue the connection to other infrastructure projects”, explains Ralph Bahke, managing director of ONTRAS. “In this way we can effectively connect emerging H2 generation and consumption centers with one another and thus create security of supply,” he adds.
