H2CAST Etzel Project Update – A picture that says more than any figure
From an empty concrete foundation to a fully installed plant with a compressor, drying system and gas purification – all achieved in just a few months.
What this means: The plant is nearing completion for precisely the process required for subsequent routine operation – separation, drying and compression up to 175 bar, monitored at various measurement points along the gas flow.
Next up is commissioning: Multicyclic operation – the repeated storage and withdrawal of hydrogen under real load-switching conditions. Exactly what a storage facility🔋 will need to do in the future energy system.
Even today, our gas caverns contribute to security of supply and reduce dependence on market price fluctuations. Future hydrogen caverns will play this role in the energy transition: system stability, security of supply and underground storage go hand in hand.
Special thanks go to our project partner Gasunie: together with STORAG ETZEL GmbH, Gasunie is responsible for the above-ground hydrogen processing plant – without this close collaboration, this progress would not have been possible.
Our message to policymakers remains clear: converting existing caverns to make them H₂-ready is significantly quicker and more cost-effective than building new ones.
What is missing now is a reliable market framework – predictable incentives such as CFDs, as recently called for by a broad coalition of associations led by the @BDEW for the 2027 federal budget, and pragmatic, harmonised purity standards to ensure the roll-out does not stall.
From concept to a facility ready for use – Etzel is leading the way in demonstrating how existing infrastructure can be utilised for the hydrogen economy.
