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Your partner for the entire hydrogen market

Portraitfoto von Hamead Ahrary

‚Hydrogen will play an important role in the energy system of the future – particularly in industries that are difficult to decarbonise, such as steel, chemicals, cement or refineries. With our long-standing customer relationships and our strong positioning in the areas of transport and storage, we at SEFE are focusing on the hydrogen value chain with a long-term business model. Our goal is to ensure a secure supply of competitive, climate-friendly hydrogen for our customers.‘

Hamead Ahrary 
Chief Sales Officer (CSO) at SEFE and Managing Director of SEFE Energy GmbH 

SEFE does not only guarantee a reliable energy supply for Germany and Europe but also plays a leading role in the energy transition. Hydrogen is a key component of SEFE's strategy to drive the transition to green energy sources, as it is an essential element across all sectors on the path to a climate-neutral energy supply. The technical potential of hydrogen is enormous, and the quantitative demand is correspondingly high across a range of sectors including the decarbonisation of industry, mobility, electricity and heating. 

OUR VISION

As a midstream company in the energy sector with 25 percent of the natural gas storage capacity in Germany, 10 percent of the total pipeline length of the German gas grid and a diversified procurement portfolio, the SEFE Group plays a decisive role in the necessary development and expansion of a hydrogen infrastructure. With its long-standing expertise in gas infrastructure SEFE is positioning itself at an early stage in the hydrogen value chain. The aim is to accelerate the widespread and competitive availability of low-carbon hydrogen together with reliable market partners inside and outside of the EU via international trading hubs.

SEFE connects the hydrogen production hubs with the industrial hubs and develops partnerships worldwide to procure low-carbon hydrogen on an industrial scale at an early stage. SEFE in signing a Joint Study Agreement for the long-term supply of low-carbon hydrogen from Brazil and will build up its own storage capacity in Germany. The company is also developing innovative transport solutions for hydrogen by sea and contributing to the European hydrogen network, the so-called EU Hydrogen Backbone. 

On this page, we would like to inform you about the status of our various hydrogen activities and how SEFE can support you as a reliable partner.

NEWS & EVENTS

  • 🌍 Wie die Energiewende zum Erfolg wird!
    Seien Sie dabei, wenn Entscheider aus Politik und Energie beim Handelsblatt Energie-Gipfel 2025 vom 21. bis 23. Januar in #Berlin die zentralen Weichen für die Energiewende stellen! Unser CEO Dr. Egbert Laege ...Read More

  • Decarbonization: Shaping a Sustainable Future
    Transitioning to a #lowcarbon economy is one of our greatest challenges. Despite uncertainties, one thing is clear: global prosperity must be #sustainable. The real question is how we shape this ...Read More

  • One million tonnes of emission removals! 🌿🌳
    No better time and place than #COP29 in #Baku to announce our new #afforestation project in #Kazakhstan: We will restore 1,500 hectares of degraded land with native #tree species together with ...Read More

  • World LNG Summit Opening: Our CEO, Dr. Egbert Laege, had the honor to welcome the participants of the World LNG Summit & Awards summit today in #Berlin. He highlighted the key role of #LNG to ensure security of supply and the #energytransition. ...Read More

  • 🌍 Energy talk at #COP29: “Azerbaijan and Germany – Partners of the Global Energy Transition”
    Our CEO, Dr. Egbert Laege, joined today in Baku Zaur Gurbanov, Vitaly Beylarbeyov (SOCAR) and Carsten Poppinga for an insightful discussion moderated by Dr. ...Read More

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BLOG

Ein großes Schiff transportiert Flüssigwasserstoff (LH2) auf ruhiger See unter blauem Himmel.

Growing demand for hydrogen – production and imports today and tomorrow

Hydrogen demand in Germany will more than double from 55 TWh per year today to as much as 130 TWh by 2030. In addition, the share of green hydrogen is to be significantly increased. What does this mean for domestic production and what import channels need to be developed?

Guest interview with Sirko Beidatsch: EEX goes H2

How can a competitive hydrogen market be established and what role will price indices play? As one of Europe's leading energy exchanges, the European Energy Exchange (EEX) in Leipzig is preparing for hydrogen trading. Sirko Beidatsch (Expert Gas Markets at EEX) explains the strategy.

Hydrogen in action: the greatest potentials

Hydrogen is seen as a promising energy source in all sectors, especially where it is not technically possible to use renewable energy and electricity directly. Given the price situation and an emerging hydrogen infrastructure, priorities are closely linked to economic and technical feasibility.

The grid of the future: transporting hydrogen in Germany

On the way to a hydrogen economy, Germany needs a comprehensive network of transport pipelines. The good news is that the existing natural gas network can be converted to transport hydrogen. In addition, new hydrogen pipelines are being built to create a hydrogen core network. 

KNOWLEDGE CENTER

The hydrogen spectrum

There are different ways of producing hydrogen. However, in the context of decarbonisation as part of the energy transition, the carbon footprint of the different processes and the origin of the feedstocks are in the spotlight. Although hydrogen itself is a colourless gas, different hydrogen colours are distinguished depending on the production process. The main colours are green, blue and turquoise.

Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water using only electricity from renewable energy sources. Regardless of the electrolysis technology used, the production of hydrogen is CO2-free as 100% of the electricity used comes from renewable sources.

Blue hydrogen is produced by steam reforming natural gas, CO2 is captured and stored during production (carbon capture and storage, CCS). The CO2 generated during hydrogen production is therefore not released into the atmosphere and hydrogen production can be considered carbon neutral.

Turquoise hydrogen is hydrogen produced by the decomposition of methane (methane pyrolysis). Instead of CO2, solid carbon is produced, which can no longer escape into the atmosphere. For the process to be carbon neutral, the high-temperature reactor must be powered by renewable energy sources and the carbon must be permanently sequestered.

To ensure the rapid development and expansion of the hydrogen market and to meet the expected demand, especially in the transition phase, the government plans to use other types of hydrogen in addition to green hydrogen. Although climate-neutral green hydrogen is the first (but currently the most expensive) choice, turquoise and blue hydrogen will also be used, subject to ambitious greenhouse gas emission limits.

How is hydrogen produced, transported and stored, and how can it be used?

OUR PROJECTS

Hydrogen: A flexible and easily transportable energy carrier.

Logo JEMGUM H2The development of a hydrogen economy requires besides the transport network, the ability to store hydrogen in large quantities and for long time periods. SEFE Storage is therefore planning to enable the underground storage of more than 500 GWh. To this end, work is currently being prioritised on the design and engineering of a large-scale hydrogen storage facility at the storage site in Jemgum near Leer (Lower Saxony). By creating these hydrogen storage capacities, the company aims to meet future flexibility demands of the hydrogen market and contribute to the security of supply targets of Germany and the European Union.

OUR PARTNERSHIPS

SEFE plays a central role in the European energy transition. We are developing global import strategies to secure the required quantities of hydrogen for Europe and are expanding our hydrogen infrastructure. It is important to reconcile Europe's industrial energy needs with the green transition - in other words, to provide industry with sustainable energy sources and thus support it in its decarbonisation goals. As SEFE, we are therefore actively involved in hydrogen-related associations and initiatives in order to jointly drive forward the development of the hydrogen market.

Contact us

Contact us via e-mail and find out how your company can benefit from SEFE’s hydrogen solutions.