Another blow for hydrogen: Danish hydrogen pipeline to Germany delayed by three years

Although plans to develop a hydrogen economy in Europe are highly ambitious, the current outlook for hydrogen projects is far from positive. After two blue hydrogen production projects in Norway were cancelled in recent weeks, another complication has emerged. Danish transmission system operator Energinet has announced a delay of several years to the planned hydrogen pipeline to Germany.

Hydrogen is expected to replace natural gas in Europe in the future, both in industrial production and in the energy sector. In recent years, there has been growing discussion of green hydrogen, meaning hydrogen produced using electricity generated from renewable sources. Other alternatives are also under consideration, such as blue hydrogen produced from natural gas using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

In the case of blue hydrogen, however, two projects in Norway have been cancelled in recent weeks. In both cases, high costs and expectations of insufficient demand for the commodity played a role. Germany is one of the main drivers of expected hydrogen demand, and by the end of this decade it expects to import around 100 TWh a year, although estimates vary.

Following the cancellation of the two projects in Norway, another complication has emerged in the form of delays to the planned hydrogen pipeline to Germany. Danish transmission system operator Energinet has postponed the expected start of operations to 2031, a three-year delay, according to Montel. The company cited the project's increased complexity and longer, more demanding planning and permitting processes related to its environmental impact.

"The schedule presented by Energinet is far from ideal. That is why we are working on measures to make Energinet's schedule more robust and limit delays as much as possible," Danish Energy Minister Lars Aagaard said, according to the website.

The Danish grid operator also said it is currently planning an auction for the sale of hydrogen pipeline capacity in autumn 2025. By then, licences for the construction of offshore wind farms should have been awarded, and the local regulator should have approved the terms for selling pipeline capacity. According to Montel, Energinet had originally planned to offer pipeline capacity at the same time as the auctions for offshore wind farms.

The planned Danish-German hydrogen pipeline is expected to transport green hydrogen produced from renewable sources to Germany in the future. In this case, it is expected to come mainly from offshore wind farms.