EWE NETZ Secures Connection Option to the Hydrogen Core Grid

Open Grid Europe GmbH (OGE) and EWE NETZ have signed an agreement for a T-connection on the Nordsee-Ruhr-Link III pipeline. This allows the distribution network operator to secure an early option to connect its regional distribution network in the Emsland region to Germany’s future hydrogen transmission infrastructure.

Nordsee-Ruhr-Link III is part of the hydrogen core grid the development of which OGE was commissioned to build together with other transmission system operators by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) and the German government in October 2024. The hydrogen core grid is designed to connect national hydrogen producers and consumers while also ensuring access to the northern hydrogen import corridor. Nordsee-Ruhr-Link III therefore forms a key link for transporting hydrogen volumes from the production-rich north to major consumption centers in western Germany. The hydrogen pipeline, scheduled to enter operation in 2027 according to the core grid plan, will run approximately 122 kilometers from Bunde in East Frisia through the Emsland region to Wettringen in North Rhine-Westphalia. From there, additional core grid pipelines will transport hydrogen to metropolitan areas and customers in other demand sectors, such as industry.

The Emsland region and Nordsee-Ruhr-Link III mutually benefit from one another: through numerous secured T-connections in the Emsland region, local hydrogen producers and consumers will gain future access to the nationwide core grid. In this context, EWE NETZ has agreed with OGE on a T-connection in Dörpen on the Nordsee-Ruhr-Link III pipeline. This will enable regional customers to be connected when required.

As a regional distribution system operator, EWE NETZ is responsible for energy infrastructure across large parts of northwestern Germany and Brandenburg. By securing this connection option, the company is creating the conditions to integrate industrial sites, municipal projects, and other large consumers in the Emsland region into a supra-regional hydrogen infrastructure in the future.

The T-connection represents the physical interface between the hydrogen core grid and the regional hydrogen network and is a prerequisite for the future technical interconnection of both network levels.

With this step, EWE NETZ is focusing on hydrogen as a key future topic – a move welcomed by Detlef Brüggemeyer, Chief Technical Officer of OGE: “We are pleased that, alongside the Emsland district and other distribution network operators, EWE NETZ has also secured a connection to Nordsee-Ruhr-Link III and is thus contributing to the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy.”

Jörn Machheit, Managing Director of EWE NETZ, adds: “The hydrogen ramp-up will only succeed if regional hydrogen networks are considered at an early stage. With the connection option in Dörpen, we are securing the bridge between the future core network and our regional network infrastructure. This creates the infrastructural prerequisite to respond quickly to concrete demand.”

Background: To participate in the hydrogen ramp-up, a pipeline branch in the form of a so-called T-connection – an interface preparation resembling the letter “T” – can be implemented by OGE on behalf of customers. Securing such a T-connection does not entail further investment in a connecting pipeline or the binding booking of transport capacities in OGE’s network.

The development of hydrogen infrastructure complements the ongoing transformation of electricity and gas networks. For EWE NETZ, this means technically upgrading existing network infrastructure and gradually preparing it for the integration of climate-neutral gases. The secured connection option in Dörpen is a concrete building block in systematically linking regional network infrastructure with the future hydrogen core network.