Once completed, "H2CAST Etzel" will pave the way for an even more ambitious development project by STORAG ETZEL as a second logical step for a sustainable site transformation and strategic positioning of the Etzel cavern facility for the coming European hydrogen economy. 

The focus of this follow-up project is on the conversion and expansion of the existing cavern field, including above ground processing facilities and the pipeline infrastructure for the Northwest Europe region, among other things, in view of the growing storage demand for H2.

The goal is the regional development and establishment of an H2 cluster by connecting the Etzel storage facility and the Wilhelmhaven region with access to wind energy, an import terminal, H2 production and the industry to the planned initial hydrogen network in Northwest Europe, the so-called "European Hydrogen backbone".  

This pipeline development project is regarded as the basis project for a joint European hydrogen supply from Hamburg to Paris and encompasses four countries.

STORAG ETZEL will initially continue and focus on the research project "H2CAST Etzel" where we will work together at the regional level with industrial partners, the municipal bodies and business promoters to leverage synergies and further develop existing initiatives. STORAG ETZEL will also remain a preferred, reliable and technically leading provider for the new energy industry, including for large-volume storage of renewable energy sources.
 

In short: Because it is clean energy, securely stored underground and because the demand for hydrogen in Germany will increase successively until 2030. Hydrogen (H2) is considered the energy carrier of the future because it makes renewable energy, e.g. electricity from wind or sun transformed to gas, storable over a longer periods of time. By the power-to-gas process electricity is used to split water into oxygen and combustible hydrogen by electrolysis. In this way, consumption can be decoupled from electricity generation.

At present, the production of "green" (i.e. Carbon dioxide-/CO₂-free) H2 in Germany is still in its infancy, but after a long period of research and development, the market ramp-up of a hydrogen economy is imminent. This is promoted by the ambitious climate targets of the EU and Germany, which are to be achieved primarily through the upgrading of renewable energy sources and flanked by decarbonisation within the framework of the H2 strategies at regional, German and European level.

The demand especially for green hydrogen, i.e. hydrogen produced from renewable energies – will only be met from domestic production to a limited extent due to a lack of production capacities. Therefore, as with fossil energies such as oil and gas, the Federal Republic of Germany and most EU states will be dependent on extensive imports. This dependence on imports will in turn be accompanied by an immense need for storage. This can be done through large-volume underground storage facilities as it is today for fossil fuels. But research and development is needed.