NZTC investigating hydrogen exports from Scotland to Germany

Offshore staff

ABERDEEN, UK — Scotland’s government has awarded the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) a £200,000 grant ($243,000) to demonstrate the feasibility and economics of exporting hydrogen from Scotland to Germany.

The research will assess and integrate work already performed both at NZTC and other current projects elsewhere in Europe. They include NZTC’s Hydrogen Backbone Link, examining the hydrogen transport infrastructure needed for a cost-effective pipeline solution between Scotland and mainland Europe.

Another is AquaVentus’ ‘AquaDuctus’ initiative, a planned GW-scale offshore hydrogen pipeline in the German North Sea that would link green hydrogen produced offshore with emerging onshore hydrogen infrastructure in Europe.

According to the NZTC, rising demand in Germany for hydrogen and its derivatives can only be covered through imports, hence the suggestion of collaboration with Scotland.

The new research will examine the benefits of an integrated pan-North Sea offshore hydrogen pipeline network to exploit offshore wind energy in northwest Europe, and it should support infrastructure planning and coordination of hydrogen strategies toward a unified European plan.

The team will estimate green hydrogen production from Scottish hubs and how this might fit industrial demand in Germany, and it will also consider various export-import scenarios, technology and regulatory requirements.

Scottish government’s Hydrogen Action Plan has calculated that the development of a hydrogen economy in Scotland could be worth £5 billion to £25 billion ($6.07 billion to $30.3 billion) per year by 2045, depending on the scale of production and the extent of exports.

10.27.2023