- Cooperation between GAZ-SYSTEM SA, PNE AG and GASCADE Gastransport Gmbh (Gascade) will investigate the potential of producing and transporting green hydrogen.

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has approved financial support for the "Pomeranian Green Hydrogen Cluster Project" from European funds. The project aims to investigate the possibilities of green hydrogen production in the West Pomeranian region and a connection to the Polish and German hydrogen network.

The company Sevivon, a subsidiary of PNE AG, Hamburg, is planning to build wind and photovoltaic parks in the Polish region of West Pomerania for the production of renewable hydrogen, which could be supplied to end consumers in both Poland and Germany via hydrogen grids.

As part of the cooperation, GASCADE, together with the Polish grid operator GAZ-SYSTEM, will examine the possibility of connecting the Polish hydrogen grid, which has yet to be built, with the German core grid project "Flow – making hydrogen happen". The corresponding study is supported by the European Commission as part of the "Connecting Europe Facility – CEF" program.

With the EU instrument "CEF RES", the European Commission has introduced a new category of cross-border projects that are eligible for funding in the field of renewable energies as part of "CEF ENERGY". As part of a funding competition, the companies listed applied for co-financing of an economic feasibility study for the "Pomeranian Green Hydrogen Cluster" project at the beginning of 2024. The aim of the funding is to support the member states in the production, use and transportation of renewable energies such as green hydrogen.

Large – fast – sustainable: With the Flow – making hydrogen happen program, GASCADE is planning a high-performance hydrogen pipeline system from the Baltic Sea coast to Baden-Württemberg with connections to Poland and the Czech Republic. The first sections of the hydrogen transport system are due to go into operation as early as 2025.

In November 2023, the European Commission published the list of "Projects of Common Interest" (PCI) and confirmed the corresponding status for the eastern part of Flow – making hydrogen happen. As part of the program, around 480 kilometers of existing gas pipeline from Lubmin on the German Baltic Sea coast to the border of the Czech Republic are to be converted from natural gas to the transport of hydrogen. The program is also part of the German hydrogen core network. Through Flow – making hydrogen happen, GASCADE is linking international hydrogen markets and thus opening up procurement and sales opportunities for large quantities of hydrogen for European industry.

About GASCADE

GASCADE Gastransport GmbH operates a gas pipeline network throughout Germany. The Kassel-based transmission system operator offers its customers modern and competitive transport services for natural gas and, in future, other gases in the heart of Europe via its own high-pressure pipeline network, which is around 3,700 kilometres long. GASCADE is pursuing the goal of successively converting its pipeline network to the transport of hydrogen and is therefore active in several onshore and offshore hydrogen projects.