Gasunie and STORAG ETZEL team up in hydrogen storage in Germany
Friedeburg-Etzel, 17.01.2023 – Gasunie is to become partner in H2CAST, the hydrogen storage pilot project in the Etzel caverns in the German state of Lower Saxony. This was announced today by STORAG ETZEL and Gasunie. For Gasunie, this participation is a first step towards developing hydrogen storage facilities in Germany.
With H2CAST, which stands for H2 CAvern Storage Transition, STORAG ETZEL and Gasunie, together with project partners, aim to enable large-scale hydrogen storage in the salt caverns near Etzel, Germany.
The first step involves a pilot project in which two of the existing salt caverns will be made suitable for hydrogen storage and connected by an above-ground installation. Within the pilot project, Gasunie will be responsible for the above ground facility to connect the two hydrogen caverns. The pilot project is expected to be ready in 2026.
The location of the storage caverns in Etzel is strategically located with a perfect connection to the Dutch and German hydrogen market, near the future Gasunie hydrogen network Hyperlink and the Energy-Hub Port of Wilhelmshaven.
Han Fennema, CEO Gasunie: 'Hydrogen is going to play an important role in the future energy system, especially for making industry more sustainable. For a well-functioning hydrogen market, large-scale hydrogen storage is a crucial component. Gasunie has the ambition to develop salt caverns for hydrogen storage in both the Netherlands and Germany.'
STORAG ETZEL is delighted that Gasunie has chosen to join the H2CAST project in Etzel which already started early 2022. Boris Richter, Managing Director of STORAG ETZEL: “The industrial scalability of the underground storage is unique for the H2CAST pilot. Gasunie will optimally strengthen the project consortium, which is of strategic importance for the Etzel site. The pilot project is a starting point for a future value chain to enable the ramp-up of the international hydrogen market.”
H2CAST Etzel is co-funded by the state of Lower Saxony and the Federal Government of Germany.
STORAG ETZEL and Gasunie are working together in this pilot project with the partners, DEEP.KBB, DLR, HARTMANN Valves, SOCON and TU Clausthal.
About STORAG ETZEL
STORAG ETZEL GmbH are the biggest independent provider of cavern storage capacity in Germany. We are proud to make our contribution to the safety of energy supply and gas grid stability in Germany and Northwestern Europe. At Etzel, East Frisia, we are constructing, operating and leasing caverns for the purpose of bulk storage of crude oil and natural gas since 1971. The cavern site Etzel is situated on the North German energy hub near Wilhelmshaven, with a connection to the deep water port.
Our customers are well known energy trading companies as well as Europeans stockpiling organizations. A major part of the German oil stockpiling obligation is stored in our caverns here at Etzel. Beyond the currently existing 75 caverns, further storage cavities within the Etzel salt dome can be created in total. There is an expansion potential up to 99 cavern locations.
About Gasunie
Gasunie is a leading European energy infrastructure company whose core activities are gas transport and gas storage. We serve the public interest and facilitate the energy transition by providing integrated infrastructure services. We focus on value creation for our shareholder(s) and other stakeholders and apply the highest safety and business standards used in the sector.
Gasunie manages and maintains the infrastructure for large-scale transport and storage of gas in the Netherlands and the northern part of Germany. Safety, reliability, sustainability and cost-effectiveness are central in everything we do. Our company was founded in 1963, four years after the discovery of natural gas in the northern Dutch province of Groningen. We are a public limited company under Dutch law and fully owned by the State of the Netherlands. Gasunie has two subsidiaries that manage the gas transport network: Gasunie Deutschland in Germany, and Gasunie Transport Services (GTS) in the Netherlands.