Energinet’s preliminary market dialogue indicates great interest in a Danish hydrogen infrastructure. Consequently, Energinet will now enter the next phase and update the business case for the project accordingly. Next year, actors will have to commit economically and legally to booking capacity in the pipeline.
Read more about the results of Energinet’s first market dialogue, including the potential transport needs for hydrogen, here.
“Green hydrogen is one of the keys to a more climate-neutral Europe – now, the next phase in realizing the hydrogen backbone can begin. Dialogue with both the Danish market and our neighbors in Germany shows great interest in the Danish hydrogen backbone – and it is on this basis Energinet will enter the next phase of the project. As for the Danish Government, we are still very positive about the project. Therefore, the feedback from the market is great news. We are still ready to bring state co-financing to the table if the industry commits to booking capacity in the pipeline,” says Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard.
The Danish Government is still willing to give Energinet access to state co-financing for a full or reduced hydrogen backbone – if, after the capacity sale, Energinet can meet the condition that a state contribution is assessed as financially responsible and will not entail or constitute expenses for the state, as per the 2. sub-agreement on pipeline hydrogen infrastructure of April 4th 2024.
Energinet’s updated timeline
Energinet has updated the timeline for the establishment of the hydrogen backbone – the updated timeline imply a postponement of the commissioning year from 2028 to 2032. The Danish Government actively supports Energinet in reducing the delay as much as possible and increasing the robustness of Energinet’s new timeline. Therefore, the Government will work on measures to support the possibility of commissioning the first part of the hydrogen backbone in 2031.
Read more here.
“The timeline that Energinet has presented is far from ideal. Therefore, we are working on measures to make Energinet’s timeline more robust and to limit the delay as much as possible. The Danish Government is keen to ensure an efficient interaction between the great amounts of renewable electricity from the ongoing offshore wind tenders, the production of green hydrogen and the German demand,” says Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard.
Read more about Energinet’s timeline, booking demands and the coming milestones for the project here.
The intention for the hydrogen backbone is to export green hydrogen produced in Denmark to the German market. Therefore, Denmark is cooperating closely with Germany to support the establishment of a border-crossing pipeline. The signal from Germany is strong: There will be great demand for green hydrogen transported through the Danish-German hydrogen infrastructure.