The Scottish government has awarded the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) £200,000 to explore the potential of exporting hydrogen from Scotland to Germany.
Specifically, the funding is to accelerate key research into how feasible this is and the economic opportunity that it offers, while also solidifying the case for infrastructure investment. It will analyse and integrate work that has already bene undertaken by the NZTC, such as its work on a Hydrogen Backbone Link, and other European projects. This includes AquaVentus’ AquaDuctus initiative, which is targeting a gigawatt-scale offshore hydrogen pipeline in the German North Sea.
The NZTC pointed to how increasing German demand for hydrogen and its derivatives can only be covered through imports, opening up the possibility of collaboration between Scotland and Germany. Through the research, the NZTC will strive to outline the benefits of an integrated pan-North Sea offshore hydrogen pipeline network that is able to efficiently harvest North West Europe’s offshore wind resource.
It will also seek to facilitate the alignment of spatial and infrastructure planning; encourage the coordination of Scotland and Germany’s respective hydrogen strategies on a path to a unified European plan; and estimate green hydrogen production from Scottish hubs and alignment with industrial demand in Germany. Various export-import scenarios will be explored covering multi-sector end-use applications, technology requirements and regulatory considerations.
