EU Commission approves funding for the ENERTRAG project "Electrolysis Corridor East Germany"

02/20/2024

The EU Commission has approved a third wave of so-called IPCEI projects (Important Projects of Common European Interest) for the development of hydro-gen infrastructure in Europe under EU state aid rules.

ENERTRAG will play an important role within the "IPCEI Hy2Infra" project wave with the pioneering "Electrolysis Corridor East Germany" project with a capacity of 185 MW. In addition to large-scale electrolysers, Hy2Infra also promotes H2 pipelines, hydrogen storage facilities and transhipment terminals for liquid organic hydrogen carriers. The capacity of the Electrolysis Corridor East Germany is spread across two locations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg. Both electrolysers are located on the "doing hydrogen" H2 pipeline and will feed around 15,000 tonnes per year of the hydrogen produced there into the pipeline. Thanks to the geographical location of the sites, ENERTRAG is not only contributing to regional development, but also enabling the efficient utilisation of renewable resources. With the help of H2 production, surplus electricity that would otherwise remain unutilised is refined, thereby increasing local value creation.

The "IPCEI Hy2Infra" project wave was jointly prepared and submitted by seven member states: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia. The projects in the wave are intended to drive the production of domestic hydrogen, thereby reducing dependence on natural gas and helping to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU plan.

The approval of the Hy2Infra wave is a decisive step for ENERTRAG, bringing the project much closer to realisation. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) is expected to issue the funding decisions for the electrolysis corridor in eastern Germany shortly.

Dr. Tobias Bischof-Niemz, Divisional Head of New Energy Solutions, is delighted that the funding has been approved: "For ENERTRAG, the electrolysis corridor in eastern Germany is one of the most important milestones in the development of the national hydrogen infrastructure. With our electrolyser capacities in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, we have a market share of around 12% in Germany and are helping to supply urgently needed hydrogen to industrial customers."