Münster, Nordhorn, 27 March 2025.

With 55 kilometres of hydrogen pipelines, transmission system operator Nowega GmbH is commissioning the first section of its hydrogen network. In Nordhorn, the initial filling of the pipeline between Lingen and Bad Bentheim with hydrogen was initiated. The section in south-west Lower Saxony is a first part of the hydrogen core network and consists of 95 per cent existing pipelines being converted for hydrogen transport. As part of the GET H2 network, the conversion of the pipelines is supported by funds from the Federal Government and the State of Lower Saxony under the IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) funding programme.

“A sustainable hydrogen economy can only succeed if we convert and build the necessary pipelines on the ground with a view to the hydrogen core network,” said Frank Doods, State Secretary at the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Construction and Digitalisation, at the event. “Today is a special day for the hydrogen ramp-up in Lower Saxony and in particular for Nowega GmbH, which is setting out on the path to the future with this project. It shows: progress is being made.”

The network section from Lingen to Bad Bentheim creates important connection opportunities for producers and users of climate-friendly hydrogen. “With the commissioning, we are making the first transport capacities available for the early phase of the hydrogen economy,” said Nowega CEO Frank Heunemann. “The focus on using existing pipelines demonstrates how we can implement the entry into hydrogen transport in a cost-efficient and swift manner.”

In the first step of commissioning, the network section is being filled with a total of 28,500 cubic metres of hydrogen, bringing it to a pressure level of 3 bar. “This was, all in all, an outstanding effort by the entire project team. We are now initially filling the system with hydrogen and will have it ready for operation by mid-April. Once the system has been brought to operating pressure, we can then carry out the first transports,” explained Dennis Hoeveler, Head of Engineering at Nowega.

The initial filling is taking place using hydrogen delivered by trailer. The primary first connection point of Nowega’s hydrogen network is RWE Generation’s 300 MW electrolysis plant in Lingen, which is set to begin producing green hydrogen from renewable electricity this year. “The filling of the first network section of Nowega is excellent news for RWE,” said Sopna Sury, COO Hydrogen at RWE Generation. “Because it makes the expansion of the German hydrogen core network tangible. At the same time, the connection between our electrolysis site in Lingen and the RWE hydrogen storage facility in Gronau-Epe is becoming a reality. We need this connection to reliably supply our customers, such as TotalEnergies in Leuna.”

In the second half of the year, the network is set to expand further southward. By then, the ongoing construction work for hydrogen transport on the jointly operated pipeline of Essen-based transmission system operator OGE and Nowega between Bad Bentheim and Legden in the Münsterland region should be completed. Further connections branch off from this pipeline, including one to the hydrogen storage facility in Epe, an existing connection to the Marl chemical park, and pipelines connecting industrial consumers and the import route from the Netherlands.

“We are very pleased that the construction work on the pipeline between Bad Bentheim and Legden is largely complete. In addition, the planning approval decision for the Heek-Epe pipeline was recently received and construction has started on schedule. As a newly built hydrogen pipeline, it connects the aforementioned pipeline system to the hydrogen storage facility in Epe,” said Detlef Brüggemeyer, Chief Technical Officer of OGE.

“The provision of the first sections of the hydrogen core network gives companies wishing to produce or use hydrogen the assurance that transport will be possible in a timely manner,” said Frank Heunemann. It is now important for the new Federal Government to continue to support the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy consistently, he added. The most important steps are: reducing the production costs of climate-friendly hydrogen and creating incentives for its use. This would enable the economically viable use of hydrogen as a decarbonisation option for industry.

About Nowega GmbH

Nowega GmbH is a transmission system operator headquartered in Münster. A subsidiary of Erdgas Münster GmbH, the company operates, maintains and markets a total of 1,500 kilometres of high-pressure gas pipelines with its approximately 150 employees. The pipeline network extends from the Dutch border across Lower Saxony and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia to the Wendland region and forms part of the intra-European transport routes for natural gas.