On the path to the energy transition, Ahrweiler, a German neighbourhood that was destroyed by flooding, is concentrating on green hydrogen.

Long-term plans include for a hydrogen pipeline to run through or close to the neighborhood from Rotterdam to southern Germany. The significant Autobahn 61 on the left bank of the Rhine also passes through here. In order to transport hydrogen, existing gas pipelines must be improved, but new pipes must also be installed.

After the Ahr flood in 2021, which caused at least 134 fatalities and approximately 9000 destroyed homes, the Ahrweiler district administration predicts that the area will eventually “become a central point of the hydrogen infrastructure in Rhineland-Palatinate and become important as a connection to the Cologne-Bonn region wins.”

In addition to drinking water, waste water, and telecommunications, the Middle Ahr Valley’s new infrastructure path, which was built after numerous pipeline networks were destroyed, is also planned for natural gas.

The district of Ahrweiler should rely heavily on this gas, which is produced using green power and is therefore climate neutral, to meet its goal of CO2-neutral energy coverage by 2045.