GASCADE, Gasunie, RWE and Shell sign memorandum of understanding on cooperation in AquaDuctus project
Kassel/ Hannover/ Essen/ Hamburg – The project partners GASCADE, Gasunie, RWE and Shell have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their cooperation in the AquaDuctus project.
In the future, the AquaDuctus transport pipeline will transport green hydrogen from the North Sea directly to the mainland. It is part of the AquaVentus initiative, which aims to build 10 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity for green hydrogen from offshore wind energy between Helgoland and the Doggerbank sandbar. In the coordinated subprojects, the demand, production and transport of hydrogen are to be synchronized, thus enabling a rapid market ramp-up.
AquaDuctus is the vision of the first German offshore hydrogen pipeline. Once the generation facilities are fully developed, AquaDuctus is expected to transport up to one million metric tons of green hydrogen per year from 2035 onwards, making a substantial contribution to decarbonizing the energy supply in Germany and Europe. AquaDuctus would thus be an important milestone in the implementation of the German and European hydrogen strategy.
The transmission line offers significant economic benefits compared to transporting electricity generated offshore. AquaDuctus replaces five high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission power links that would have to be built instead. The pipeline is by far the most cost-effective way to transport large amounts of energy over more than 400 kilometers.
The first step in the AquaDuctus project is a detailed feasibility study. AquaDuctus has also participated in the IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) expression of interest procedure of the German Federal Ministry of Economics.