GTC for Balancing in the GET H2 Hydrogen Grid Published

The General Terms and Conditions (GTC) for the hydrogen balancing group contract for the hydrogen network of the GET H2 partners Nowega, OGE and Thyssengas were published on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. In October 2024, the three companies had already published the GTC for access to the upcoming GET H2 hydrogen network on their websites. With the publication of the additional GTC, the network operators Nowega, OGE and Thyssengas as well as Trading Hub Europe as the hydrogen market area manager are now also announcing the contractual basis for balancing. The first pipeline sections of the GET H2 hydrogen network in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia are scheduled to go into operation in stages before the end of 2025. They are part of the hydrogen core network approved by the Federal Network Agency.

The GET H2 hydrogen grid extends in the respective expansion stages from Lingen in Emsland, Lower Saxony, via Legden to Dorsten in the northern Ruhr area, from there to Marl and Duisburg as well as to the Dutch border crossing point Vlieghuis and to the cavern storage facilities in Gronau-Epe. The general terms and conditions for the hydrogen balancing group contract apply to all balancing group managers who wish to be active in this GET H2 hydrogen grid. The publication was preceded by a consultation process with the first potential customers of the GET H2 hydrogen grid.

The general terms and conditions for the hydrogen balancing group contract complete the network access regulations in the GET H2 hydrogen grid. They are based as far as possible and reasonable on the established standard of the cooperation agreement of the network operators in natural gas (KoV Gas). A hydrogen balancing group contract must be concluded in addition to the network access contracts, analogous to natural gas transportation. The general terms and conditions for access to the GET H2 hydrogen grid and for the hydrogen balancing group contract were drawn up independently of the Federal Network Agency's tenor drafts in the WaKandA and WasABi determination procedures. Even if the principles are very largely compatible, the GTC or contracts concluded on this basis will be adapted accordingly by the final implementation dates defined in the aforementioned specifications at the latest.