€25/kWh/year! Germany officially sets the use fee of hydrogen pipeline network

The German Federal Network Administration (BNetzA) has officially confirmed that operators of the "core network" of hydrogen pipelines in Germany can charge users a unified fee for the use of the pipeline network, which is set at 25 euros ( $29.23) per kilowatt-hour per year.

BNetzA points out that this fee (expressed as " €25/kWh/H/a", reflecting its use for uncompressed hydrogen) is the result of a precise calculation: on the one hand, the price must be high enough to ensure that the investment costs are covered, and on the other hand, the price must be low enough for the initial users to afford.

This charging policy serves Germany's ambitious hydrogen energy core network construction plan. The network, with a total length of more than 9,000 kilometers, is expected to be completed in 2032, with a total investment of 18.9 billion euros.

In view of the huge investment in the early stage of the project and the low initial demand, the German government has set up an "amortization account" (amortization skonto) with a scale of 24 billion euros. The

pipeline operator is required to repay funds to this account in the event of future revenue increases, with the goal of clearing all balances by 2055.

According to the regulations, if the operator fails to repay, it will bear 24% of the funding gap, and the rest will be borne by the German government.

BNetzA has designed the rate to remain constant until 2055, with a review every three years to ensure operators can rebalance their amortisation accounts by then.

"We are creating planning security for all market participants, providing access to the hydrogen core network at a reasonable price." Klaus M Müller, chairman of BNetzA, stressed. Substantial progress has been made in the construction of

pipeline network. This year, the first pipeline sections in Germany have been completed and hydrogen has been successfully injected.

Examples are the 55 km of pipeline laid by Nowega for the GET H2 network and the 25 km of connecting pipeline built by Ontas between the Bad Lauchst Lauchstädt energy park and the Total Energies Leuna refinery.

These pipelines will become part of the huge hydrogen energy core network in the future.