GASCADE, Gasunie, RWE and Shell sign declaration of intent regarding collaboration on AquaDuctus project

AquaDuctus pipeline to transport up to one million tonnes of green hydrogen annually
Feasibility study to be carried out

Kassel/Hanover/Essen/Hamburg, 26 April 2021. Project partners GASCADE, Gasunie, RWE and Shell signed a declaration of intent to further intensify their collaboration on the AquaDuctus project.

The AquaDuctus pipeline will transport green hydrogen from the North Sea directly to the continent. It is part of the AquaVentus initiative, which plans to install 10 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity for green hydrogen production from offshore wind power between Heligoland and the Dogger sand bank. In the dovetailed sub-projects, demand, generation and transport of hydrogen are to be synchronised in order to enable a swift market ramp-up.

The AquaDuctus pipeline is the vision for the first German offshore hydrogen pipeline. Once the construction of the generation plants is fully completed, AquaDuctus would transport up to one million tonnes of green hydrogen annually from 2035 onwards, thus making a substantial contribution towards the decarbonisation of energy supply in Germany and Europe. AquaDuctus is therefore a key milestone in the implementation of the German and European hydrogen strategies.

Compared to the transport of electricity generated offshore, the pipeline offers clear economic advantages. The pipeline will replace five High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission systems, which would otherwise have to be built. It is by far the most cost-effective option for transporting large volumes of energy over distances of more than 400 kilometres.

The first step in the AquaDuctus project is to carry out a detailed feasibility study. AquaDuctus has also participated in the IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) process of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Read more about AquaDuctus and the other sub-projects on the AquaVentus’ website www.aquaventus.org

To download the high resolution picture of the AquaDuctus pipeline, please visit our press photo section.

GASCADE Gastransport GmbH operates a gas pipeline network covering the whole of Germany. The network company offers its customers cutting-edge, competitive transport services over its own long-distance high-pressure pipeline network of more than 2,900 kilometers in length in the heart of Europe.