EWE awards contract for hydrogen storage project

Energy service provider, EWE, continues with the conversion of its gas storage site in the Wesermarsch, Germany, for the storage of hydrogen. As part of the four-part large scale Clean Hydrogen Coastline project, EWE has commissioned NEUMAN & ESSER to supply two compressors. These compressors form a central component for future hydrogen storage in a converted natural gas cavern. EWE aims to store hydrogen in it from 2027. From then, the green gas can be available when it is needed, not when it is produced. Large scale hydrogen storage can improve the safe and flexible supply of future hydrogen users.

The project is an important step towards integrating green hydrogen technology into the existing energy infrastructure and a key project for the energy transition.

“We are pleased that we can make a decisive contribution to the development of the green hydrogen economy in Germany by supplying the heart of the hydrogen storage facility,” says Jens Wulff, Managing Director of NEUMAN & ESSER Germany. “And that the funding commitments from the German government and the state of Lower Saxony in summer 2024 for the EWE Clean Hydrogen Coastline project paved the way for projects such as this one. The conclusion of the contract with EWE shows our determination to implement these major projects quickly."

Hydrogen storage to stabilise the energy supply

EWE is converting one of seven underground natural gas caverns at its cavern site in Huntorf in the Wesermarsch, Germany, to store hydrogen. The Huntorf project is part of the connecting project Clean Hydrogen Coastline. This brings together the production, storage, transport, and use of green hydrogen. EWE received the funding notices for the four-part project as part of the European Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) programme in the summer of 2024. EWE is currently in the detailed planning phase and intends to store and withdraw hydrogen as early as the next two to three years.

Research work for transferability to Wesermarsch cavern, Germany

EWE has provided proof that hydrogen can be safely stored in salt caverns as part of a research project at its gas storage site in Rüdersdorf near Berlin, Germany. The company is now transferring the knowledge gained from the construction and operation of the 500 m3 test cavern to caverns with a volume 1000 times greater, such as in Huntorf in the Wesermarsch, Germany. “Our goal is to establish large scale caverns for hydrogen storage. With 37 salt caverns, EWE alone has more than 15% of all German cavern storage facilities that are suitable for storing hydrogen,” said Peter Schmidt, Managing Director of EWE GASSPEICHER.

Despite the technological success, there are challenges at the regulatory level. According to Schmidt, an important first step was the identification of the enormous demand for cavern storage facilities, for example in the long term scenarios of the Federal Ministry of Economics. “Political guardrails are now needed very quickly, especially in view of the long implementation times for the construction of the underground storage facilities. In order to be able to make investment decisions for further hydrogen storage projects, a suitable regulatory framework and thus a bankable financing model are essential for us,” commented Peter Schmidt.

Contribution to the energy transition and regional development

With the Clean Hydrogen Coastline project and the first large scale hydrogen storage facility in the Wesermarsch, Germany, EWE is strengthening the regional economy and securing the future viability of the energy supply. At the same time, the energy service provider is actively shaping the energy transition. “For us, hydrogen is one of the core building blocks of the energy transition. It makes fluctuating renewables available at all times, because hydrogen can be stored on a large scale. And where natural gas is currently stored underground, we also intend to store hydrogen in the future,” added Peter Schmidt.

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