The construction of the hydrogen pipeline from Denmark to Germany will be delayed by several years. The development of renewable energy production is postponed from 2028 to 2031.
Energy network. (Symbolic image: Wolfgang Weiser)“Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and acknowledge reality,” Denmark’s Climate Minister Lars Aagaard told the Ritzau news agency.
The pipeline is intended to enable the sale of Danish hydrogen on the large German market using the so-called Power-to-X process.
The hydrogen is intended for factories and the transport sector, which could switch their fossil fuels to climate-friendly energy sources. Potential customers include shipping, air traffic and, for example, steel production.
The government originally planned to lay the hydrogen pipeline by 2028. The state-owned company Energinet has now presented preliminary studies, according to which the project will take more years than planned, among other things because of extensive environmental and safety studies.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, the postponement will not affect the achievement of the government’s climate targets for 2030.
Project in three phases
The project will be built in three phases, with the final phase to be determined later.
According to the latest information, the section from the German border to Esbjerg is scheduled to be completed in 2031.
From Esbjerg to Holstebro in West Jutland, the pipeline can be put into operation in 2032, and at the end point in Lille Torup in North Jutland, the pipeline will be completed in 2033.
A press release from the Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities said the delay was “not satisfactory” but the ministry would now seek to “make Energinet’s schedule more certain and limit the delay.”
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