Danish-German funding agreement on hydrogen pipeline postponed — EnergyWatch

The financing of the future hydrogen infrastructure in Denmark will not be sorted out this year.

this was the initial the plan, but Danish minister for climate, energy and utilities Lars Aagaard has now informed the involved parties that negotiations will be resumed in the new year, according to Danish digital news media Finans.

”Are we once again losing an obvious opportunity to make a difference in relation to the climate and at the same time create jobs? I fear so,” says Mona Juul, business and climate spokesperson for the Conservative People’s Party in Denmark, who are both surprised and concerned about the minister’s announcement.

The project involves a 360-kilometer hydrogen pipeline that will run down through the Danish island of Jutland and into the German market, which has been identified as a key market for the Danish hydrogen adventure. Thje Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and natural gas, Energinet, estimates that the hydrogen pipeline will cost DKK 10-22bn to establish, but the socio-economic gain will be DKK 30-75bn. 

However, it is difficult for Energinet to make an investment decision before players in the Danish hydrogen industry such as Ørsted, H2 Energy and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) have started building hydrogen factories. On the other hand, the companies are waiting until it is certain that it is possible to send the hydrogen to Germany.

(Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Katrine Gøthler)