Tostedt -- The Friedrich Vorwerk Group SE (ISIN DE000A255F11), a leading provider of energy infrastructure, has been awarded the major contract for the construction of the "H2 Coastlink 1" hydrogen pipeline between Emden and Leer as part of a joint venture with EWE NETZ GmbH – acting as general contractor on behalf of the project developer and long-distance pipeline operator GTG Nord GmbH.

The core of the new route is an approximately 24 km long high-pressure hydrogen pipeline with a diameter of DN 400; this includes the connecting pipeline from the future electrolyzer to the hydrogen injection plant in Emden, as well as the connecting lines to the supra-regional hydrogen network in Leer. The contract is worth tens of millions of euros, and preparatory work is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2026. The pipeline is expected to be operational and handed over to GTG Nord GmbH in the fall of 2027.

The pipeline planned by GTG Nord GmbH – the long-distance pipeline operator within the EWE Group – will connect the 320 MW generation plant under construction in Emden-Borssum, operated by EWE Hydrogen GmbH, with the hydrogen infrastructure being developed in Leer-Nord in northwest Germany. There, it will be connected to the "HyPerLink" hydrogen backbone of Gasunie Deutschland and to the gas transport pipeline of GTG Nord GmbH.

The H₂Coastlink 1 hydrogen pipeline _is one of several sub-projects actively supported by the German Federal Government's IPCEI hydrogen program and the state of Lower Saxony. It is also part of the German core hydrogen network, which connects key hydrogen locations – from major industrial centers to storage facilities and power plants, all the way to import corridors. Around 90 crossings will be constructed along the route; ecologically sensitive areas, bodies of water, and transport routes will be traversed, among other methods, using trenchless horizontal directional drilling (HDD).

Given the need to connect numerous new hydrogen and power plant sites to the existing network, as well as the planned realization of the approximately 9,000 km long core hydrogen network, network operators are currently planning a multitude of new construction and upgrade projects, which are urgently being implemented. Due to its broad portfolio of services and technologies, as well as its decades of experience in pipeline and pipeline construction, FRIEDRICH VORWERK, as an end-to-end service provider, anticipates continued growth in demand in this sector.

Source:   Fuel Cells Works