‚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.
‚A strong player in the midstream energy market is needed to ensure hydrogen is accessible and cost effective for energy intensive industries and power plants across Europe.‘
Mijke Kouwenhoven - van der BruggenExecutive Vice President Account Management
‚Even in a climate-neutral future, Germany and the EU will be in global competition for energy imports - especially for hydrogen. This makes an import strategy that sends a proactive market signal from Germany.‘
Dr. Hans Dieter Hermes Executive Vice President Hydrogen & Renewable Energies
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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.
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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?
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 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.
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
JEMGUM H2
Flow
AquaDuctus
JEMGUM H2
Hydrogen: A flexible and easily transportable energy carrier.
The 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.
Flow
Flow – making hydrogen happen should be transporting hydrogen from north to south as early as 2025
Together with partners, the SEFE subsidiary GASCADE is planning to build a 1,100 km hydrogen pipeline system from the Baltic Sea to South West Germany as part of the ‚Flow‘ project. The project is to be implemented in three stages from 2025 and aims to advance the energy transition by transporting and storing climate-neutral hydrogen over a large area.
In the long term, the new pipeline system could connect Denmark, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and France, playing a central role in Europe’s future energy infrastructure.
AquaDuctus
Hydrogen infrastructure in the North Sea – AquaDuctus
The AquaDuctus offshore pipeline is a major project for transporting green hydrogen produced offshore from the North Sea to the mainland. The pipeline consists of two sections, both to be completed by 2030. The first section will connect the SEN-1 hydrogen wind farm to Wilhelmshaven over a distance of about 200 kilometres and then continue for about 100 kilometres to the German-Dutch border. The second section will extend the pipeline a further 200 kilometres and connect to other wind farms and offshore pipelines from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and the UK.
With a planned total capacity of up to 20 gigawatts, the pipeline will be a key element of the new hydrogen network in the North Sea, contributing to the development of a single European market for hydrogen.
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.