Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway, Units 623/624
Consultation on the scenario framework for electricity and gas/hydrogen in the Network Development Plan (NEP). AquaVentus took part in the joint market survey of the transmission system operators. The AquaVentus Förderverein e.V. participated in the joint market survey conducted by the gas transmission system operators (FNB) and the electricity transmission system operators (ÜNB). In doing so, the initiative underlines its commitment to developing the hydrogen ramp-up cooperatively and to working with other actors on innovative solutions for the energy transition.
Offshore electrolysis increases security of supply and resilience and offers the opportunity to keep import dependence for hydrogen low
By generating hydrogen on the high seas, the AquaVentus undertaking will contribute substantially to increasing security of supply and resilience. At the same time, this technology offers the possibility of minimising import dependence for hydrogen in the long term and making Germany less reliant on hydrogen imports. Offshore hydrogen production thus not only opens up new technological possibilities but also makes an important contribution to the country's energy sovereignty and to reducing geopolitical dependencies.
Efficient energy transport by carrying the hydrogen ashore via the AquaDuctus pipeline directly within the hydrogen core network. Producing hydrogen directly on the high seas has the advantage that the wind electricity generated does not have to be transported ashore via additional power cables. Studies show that this is becoming ever more expensive, particularly with regard to the distant areas of the Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) — Zones 4 and 5. Instead, the hydrogen produced at sea is brought ashore via the AquaDuctus pipeline in a cost-saving, efficient and environmentally sound manner. With the transport concept of the collector pipeline, which is to become the core of a European offshore hydrogen network, the foundation is laid for a sustainable and cost-efficient hydrogen supply for Germany and Europe, while at the same time relieving the electricity grid infrastructure. And there is more: by connecting offshore wind farms in Zones 4 and 5 via a combination of power cable and pipeline, up to EUR 31 billion can be saved in macroeconomic terms, as the new study by E-Bridge Consulting GmbH finds.
The questions from the accompanying document in detail. Question 29: Should the assumptions of Scenario C go beyond the targets of the Offshore Wind Energy Act, even if the availability of the sites is uncertain? Yes, the assumptions of Scenario C should go beyond the targets of the Offshore Wind Energy Act, even if the availability of the sites has yet to be clarified. Future developments cannot be reliably accounted for and anticipated today. For this reason, scenarios are needed in order to be able to respond flexibly over time and to use the limited site potential of the German EEZ in the North and Baltic Seas as efficiently as possible. Optimal site use is ultimately for the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency to resolve, but it should cover Germany's renewable energy targets under the Offshore Wind Energy Act as well as those of the adopted motion "Maritime sovereignty in the Zeitenwende".
Question 30: Should electrical connections be assumed for the potentially usable sites of the Dogger Bank, or should this potential be reserved for the generation of hydrogen at sea?
In any case, site potential of 10 GW is bindingly required for hydrogen generation at sea (offshore electrolysis). Studies from 2022 by AFRY and from 2023 by DNV have established in principle the advantages of generating hydrogen on the high seas and transporting it away by pipeline. The sites in the distant Dogger Bank in particular should therefore be reserved for hydrogen generation. The sites in Zone 5 are more than 300 km from the mainland, so that the standard cost rates from the last Network Development Plan for offshore cable connection can be applied by way of example. For the offshore segment alone, the following costs are to be assumed: • 2 GW offshore export cable (525 kV): EUR 6.00 million/km • 20 GW offshore pipeline (48"): EUR 7.48 million/km. By way of illustration this means: in order to realise the potential in the German EEZ, transport capacity of 10 GW must be created — either via one pipeline or five cable systems. This yields significant cost advantages for an offshore pipeline: • EUR 30 million/km for cable systems versus • EUR 3.24 million/km for the pipeline. The additional costs for continuing the cable routes onshore over distances of up to 300 km are not yet included here, whereas the hydrogen core network can absorb these volumes with ease. In principle, the Dogger Bank in the North Sea is outstandingly suited to the European interconnection of energy transport infrastructure. Owing to its location, water depth and size, it offers optimal conditions for developing offshore wind energy projects. Alongside electricity generation, these should also be used for producing green hydrogen at sea. By expanding the energy transport infrastructure, the Dogger Bank could serve as a central hub distributing wind energy efficiently between European countries in the form of green electrons and green molecules. This would strengthen energy security and contribute to achieving the climate targets. A further possibility for exploiting the full wind potential could be so-called mixed connection concepts combining power cable and pipeline: with a view to the energy system as a whole, the cited study by E-Bridge Consulting GmbH of August 2024 concludes that these combined connection concepts offer socio-economic cost advantages of up to EUR 31 billion. This is due to a) the more efficient use of the transport infrastructure for electricity and hydrogen, b) fewer overcapacities and negative electricity prices, and c) greater flexibility in the electricity grid and better utilisation of offshore wind farms and electrolysers. These savings for grid customers — above all broad sections of society — keep the intergenerational project of the energy transition affordable despite recently risen costs. For this, however, the legal framework (specifically the Offshore Wind Energy Act) must permit combined connection concepts (power cable and pipeline).