EWE Advances Hydrogen Storage Project in Huntorf

EWE Group is moving forward with the development of its hydrogen storage facility in Huntorf, in Lower Saxony’s Wesermarsch region. Its subsidiary EWE GASSPEICHER GmbH has commissioned international industrial services provider Bilfinger to supply a gas treatment plant. Bilfinger will be responsible for engineering, installation and commissioning. The contract marks another important milestone in EWE’s conversion of an existing natural gas cavern for large-scale hydrogen storage.

One of seven underground natural gas caverns at EWE’s Huntorf storage site will be converted for this purpose. It will provide a working gas capacity of approximately 16 million normal cubic metres of hydrogen. The facility is to be connected to Germany’s hydrogen core network, creating a flexible link between production, transport and use.

Storage Strengthens Security of Supply and System Stability

In the future, hydrogen will be produced or imported when energy is available – which will not necessarily coincide with demand from industry, energy suppliers or power plants. Hydrogen storage facilities address this timing mismatch: they take in hydrogen when it is available and release it as needed. By balancing fluctuations in hydrogen supply, they provide flexibility and strengthen security of supply and stability in the future hydrogen system.

“We need hydrogen storage facilities to ensure a secure and reliable energy supply. They provide a buffer between production, imports and consumption, ensuring that hydrogen is available when it is needed, regardless of when it is produced or delivered. Our Huntorf storage facility provides tangible infrastructure for this purpose, and awarding the contract to Bilfinger marks another important step,” said Peter Schmidt, Managing Director of EWE GASSPEICHER. “Reliable regulatory and economic frameworks are just as crucial as the timely expansion of the hydrogen core network if hydrogen storage facilities are to fulfil their role in the future energy system and investment in the necessary infrastructure is to proceed.”

New Technology for Hydrogen Treatment

Bilfinger has supported EWE for several years in planning and implementing hydrogen storage and production facilities at various locations. For the Huntorf storage facility, the industrial services provider will undertake the engineering, installation and commissioning of the hydrogen drying plant. This will be the first commercial-scale deployment of Bilfinger’s H2Dry technology.

“Hydrogen storage requires efficient and cost-effective treatment solutions. H2Dry delivers exactly that, helping our customer bring green hydrogen to market competitively,” said Ulrich Trebbe, Product Manager for Hydrogen at Bilfinger. “EWE and Bilfinger have a long-standing partnership, and we are delighted to expand it further to help build a future-ready energy supply in Germany.”

Huntorf Connects Production, Transport and Use

The Huntorf hydrogen storage facility is part of EWE’s large-scale Clean Hydrogen Coastline initiative. The project brings together the production, storage, transport and use of green hydrogen generated from renewable energy in north-western Germany. In summer 2024, EWE received funding approvals from the German federal government and the state of Lower Saxony for the four-part initiative under the European IPCEI programme (Important Project of Common European Interest).

EWE is converting the existing natural gas cavern in Huntorf into a large-scale hydrogen storage facility in stages. The gas treatment plant is a key component of the future storage infrastructure. The facility is scheduled to connect to the hydrogen core network and enter operation in 2028. Acting as a buffer between production, transport and consumption, it will balance fluctuations in the hydrogen system, supply hydrogen as needed and strengthen security of supply.

Research Experience Informs Huntorf Development

EWE demonstrated that hydrogen can be stored safely in salt caverns through a research project at its gas storage site in Rüdersdorf, near Berlin. The company is now applying the insights gained from building and operating the 500-cubic-metre test cavern to large-scale caverns such as Huntorf.

EWE has a total of 37 salt caverns and extensive experience in building and operating underground energy storage facilities. The company is drawing on this expertise to develop hydrogen storage infrastructure.

Key Facts and Figures:

• Location: Huntorf, Wesermarsch
• Operator: EWE GASSPEICHER GmbH
• Scope: Conversion of one of seven existing caverns
• Working Gas Capacity: Approximately 16 million Nm³ of hydrogen
• Injection/Withdrawal Rate: 35,000 Nm³/h in total
• Grid Connection: Connection to Germany’s hydrogen core network planned for 2028
• Overall Project: Clean Hydrogen Coastline
• Bilfinger Contract: Engineering, installation and commissioning of the gas treatment plant
• Technology: First commercial deployment of Bilfinger’s H2Dry technology

The Clean Hydrogen Coastline project to establish a hydrogen economy in north-western Germany is supported and funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Lower Saxony’s Ministry for Economic Affairs, Transport, Construction and Digitalisation, and Lower Saxony’s Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection.