GASCADE Commissioning 400-Kilometer Hydrogen Backbone Network

The gas transmission network operator GASCADE has successfully converted around 400 kilometers of natural gas pipelines from Germany’s Baltic Sea coast southwards for the transport of hydrogen. With the initial filling of the first pipeline sections as part of the Flow – making hydrogen happen program, a north-south axis from the Baltic region to Saxony-Anhalt has been established. This section forms a central part of Germany’s future hydrogen backbone network.

The infrastructure is now available to the market, providing the foundation for the planned ramp-up of the hydrogen economy. As GASCADE emphasizes, the project demonstrates how existing pipeline infrastructure can be quickly and cost-efficiently adapted for hydrogen transport.

Managing Director Ulrich Benterbusch highlights the technical significance of the project: “With the successful conversion of 400 kilometers of pipeline, we are reliably providing large-scale and central hydrogen infrastructure. Converting existing natural gas pipelines with a diameter of 1.4 meters for hydrogen transport is a technical pioneering achievement.”

From a European perspective, the project is also intended to set standards. Christoph von dem Bussche, Managing Director at GASCADE, points to the strategic networking: “Flow – making hydrogen happen is more than a technical project. It is a promise for the future. In 2025, we are creating the conditions to transport hydrogen from the European Baltic region, international hydrogen imports via the port of Rostock, as well as green hydrogen produced on the Baltic coast – particularly at the Lubmin site. From the outset, we are considering the connection with our European neighbors.”

The now operational section represents the first step toward a further extension of the backbone network to industrial centers in southern Germany by 2029. As part of the program, pipelines to Poland, the Czech Republic, and in the direction of Bavaria and Austria will also be adapted or newly constructed.