In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany and Norway are considering building a hydrogen pipeline to minimize their dependency on Russian energy supplies, according to Bloomberg News.
The action is thought to be in response to Russia’s recent threat to shut down the major Russia-Germany gas pipeline if Western nations cut off energy supplies to Russia.
Following a meeting between German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, the nations announced that they will conduct a feasibility assessment on the planned pipeline project as part of the plan.
Green hydrogen will be transported from Norway to Germany via this pipeline.
“Over the coming months and years, it will be extremely important to speed up the development of alternative energy sources for Europe as substitutes for Russian gas and oil, and to develop the necessary infrastructure for this,” Germany and Norway said in a joint statement, according to the publication.
Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has committed to expanding the country’s gas and coal storage facilities in order to mitigate any Russian supply interruptions.
The government is also encouraging the construction of additional LNG terminals, the purchase of LNG, and the acceleration of renewable energy expansion plans.
In a second declaration, E.ON, a German power utility, said it will no longer buy additional gas from Gazprom’s European trading subsidiaries, according to Reuters.
“In light of the situation in Ukraine, we have ceased acquiring additional volumes from these firms,” E.ON CEO Leonhard Birnbaum was quoted by the news agency as stating during the company’s annual press conference.
