Growing demand for hydrogen – production and imports today and tomorrow
The German government sees hydrogen as a key element in the successful transformation of energy systems.
SEFE does not only guarantee a reliable energy supply for Germany and Europe but also plays a leading role in the energy transition. Hydrogen is a key component of SEFE's strategy to drive the transition to green energy sources, as it is an essential element across all sectors on the path to a climate-neutral energy supply. The technical potential of hydrogen is enormous, and the quantitative demand is correspondingly high across a range of sectors including the decarbonisation of industry, mobility, electricity and heating.
‘Hydrogen will play an important role in the energy system of the future – particularly in industries that are difficult to decarbonise, such as steel, chemicals, cement or refineries. With our long-standing customer relationships and our strong positioning in the areas of transport and storage, we at SEFE are focusing on the hydrogen value chain with a long-term business model. Our goal is to ensure a secure supply of competitive, climate-friendly hydrogen for our customers.’
Hamead Ahrary
Chief Sales Officer (CSO) at SEFE and Managing Director of SEFE Energy GmbH
As a midstream company in the energy sector with 25 percent of the natural gas storage capacity in Germany, 10 percent of the total pipeline length of the German gas grid and a diversified procurement portfolio, the SEFE Group plays a decisive role in the necessary development and expansion of a hydrogen infrastructure. With its long-standing expertise in gas infrastructure SEFE is positioning itself at an early stage in the hydrogen value chain. The aim is to accelerate the widespread and competitive availability of low-carbon hydrogen together with reliable market partners inside and outside of the EU via international trading hubs.
SEFE connects the hydrogen production hubs with the industrial hubs and develops partnerships worldwide to procure low-carbon hydrogen on an industrial scale at an early stage. SEFE in signing a Joint Study Agreement for the long-term supply of low-carbon hydrogen from Brazil and will build up its own storage capacity in Germany. The company is also developing innovative transport solutions for hydrogen by sea and contributing to the European hydrogen network, the so-called EU Hydrogen Backbone.
On this page, we would like to inform you about the status of our various hydrogen activities and how SEFE can support you as a reliable partner.
‚A strong player in the midstream energy market is needed to ensure hydrogen is accessible and cost effective for energy intensive industries and power plants across Europe.‘
Mijke Kouwenhoven - van der Bruggen
Executive Vice President Account Management
‚Even in a climate-neutral future, Germany and the EU will be in global competition for energy imports - especially for hydrogen. This makes an import strategy that sends a proactive market signal from Germany.‘
Dr. Hans Dieter Hermes
Executive Vice President Hydrogen & Renewable Energies
There are different ways of producing hydrogen. However, in the context of decarbonisation as part of the energy transition, the carbon footprint of the different processes and the origin of the feedstocks are in the spotlight. Although hydrogen itself is a colourless gas, different hydrogen colours are distinguished depending on the production process. The main colours are green, blue and turquoise.
To ensure the rapid development and expansion of the hydrogen market and to meet the expected demand, especially in the transition phase, the government plans to use other types of hydrogen in addition to green hydrogen. Although climate-neutral green hydrogen is the first (but currently the most expensive) choice, turquoise and blue hydrogen will also be used, subject to ambitious greenhouse gas emission limits.
The development of a hydrogen economy requires besides the transport network, the ability to store hydrogen in large quantities and for long time periods. SEFE Storage is therefore planning to enable the underground storage of more than 500 GWh. To this end, work is currently being prioritised on the design and engineering of a large-scale hydrogen storage facility at the storage site in Jemgum near Leer (Lower Saxony). By creating these hydrogen storage capacities, the company aims to meet future flexibility demands of the hydrogen market and contribute to the security of supply targets of Germany and the European Union.
Together with partners, the SEFE subsidiary GASCADE is planning to build a 1,100 km hydrogen pipeline system from the Baltic Sea to South West Germany as part of the ‚Flow‘ project. The project is to be implemented in three stages from 2025 and aims to advance the energy transition by transporting and storing climate-neutral hydrogen over a large area.
In the long term, the new pipeline system could connect Denmark, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and France, playing a central role in Europe’s future energy infrastructure.
The AquaDuctus offshore pipeline is a major project for transporting green hydrogen produced offshore from the North Sea to the mainland. The pipeline consists of two sections, both to be completed by 2030. The first section will connect the SEN-1 hydrogen wind farm to Wilhelmshaven over a distance of about 200 kilometres and then continue for about 100 kilometres to the German-Dutch border. The second section will extend the pipeline a further 200 kilometres and connect to other wind farms and offshore pipelines from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and the UK.
With a planned total capacity of up to 20 gigawatts, the pipeline will be a key element of the new hydrogen network in the North Sea, contributing to the development of a single European market for hydrogen.
SEFE plays a central role in the European energy transition. We are developing global import strategies to secure the required quantities of hydrogen for Europe and are expanding our hydrogen infrastructure. It is important to reconcile Europe's industrial energy needs with the green transition - in other words, to provide industry with sustainable energy sources and thus support it in its decarbonisation goals. As SEFE, we are therefore actively involved in hydrogen-related associations and initiatives in order to jointly drive forward the development of the hydrogen market.
We pride ourselves on providing relevant industry and company insights, resources and updates for our customers.
The German government sees hydrogen as a key element in the successful transformation of energy systems.
Sirko Beidatsch (Expert Gas Markets EEX) on the path to a competitive hydrogen market. In times of volatile energy markets, price indices are becoming increasingly important.
The use of hydrogen as a storable energy source is increasingly coming to the centre of attention in Germany. Its manifold potential applications are already being exploited in some sectors
