Mainzer to develop hydrogen pipeline in Germany

This also includes the construction of an electrolyser to supply a hydrogen filling station and local industrial companies with green hydrogen. The Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economic Affairs is supporting the pipeline network project, which costs more than €10 million euros, with a total of around €7.2 million.

What will the new Mainz hydrogen network look like? The plan includes a new pipeline approximately 2.6 km long, which will be laid underground and through which hydrogen can be transported once it is operational. This pipeline starts at the Mainz Economic Development Corp. site at the Mombacher Kreisel (Mombach Roundabout) and runs from the sewage treatment plant along Rheinallee to the Schott AG headquarters.

Connection with little effort

The initial hydrogen network was deliberately designed to allow large scale industrial users such as Schott, but also Mainzer Mobilität, and various industrial and logistics companies to be connected to this pipeline with minimal effort. For example, if they have converted their production processes or vehicle fleets to hydrogen. A large proportion of Mainz’s prospective large scale hydrogen users are therefore located in the catchment area of the new pipeline.

The hydrogen filling station, which was previously located on the ESWE Verkehr site in Wiesbaden, Germany, will also be connected to the initial network. The filling station will be relocated to the Mombach sewage treatment plant site in the coming months. Once operational, this filling station will refuel the six existing fuel cell buses of the Mainzer Verkehrsgesellschaft. The filling station will also be open to the public.

Michael Worch, Managing Director of Mainzer Netze GmbH, thanks the state for its financial support, without which the project could not have been implemented. He added: “As a regional electricity and gas network operator, we are in the midst of the energy, transport, and heat transition. If we truly take climate protection goals seriously, we need lighthouse projects like these to advance the transition to a climate-friendly hydrogen economy.”

Electrolyser planned on Rheinallee

Where will the hydrogen come from to supply the new pipeline network and the filling station? The construction of an electrolyser is planned for an existing site owned by Mainzer Netze on Rheinallee. The partner, Hy2gen, will be responsible for the construction of the electrolyser and the operational operation of the hydrogen filling station. Mainzer Netze is planning and building the high-pressure hydrogen pipeline.

“As a Mainz boy, it is a pleasure for me to realise this project alongside Mainzer Stadtwerke. Schoolchildren – and thus my children too – will be able to travel by bus using renewable hydrogen from Mainz and experience the future of mobility in everyday life. We are also offering the industry along Rheinallee a sustainable, yet low-threshold option for using hydrogen,” explained Matthias Lisson, Managing Director of Hy2gen and future operator of the production facility.

Mainzer Netze estimates the total cost of the pipeline project to be just over €10 million. A final investment decision (FID) is expected to be made at the end of 2025 following the preliminary planning and detailed economic feasibility studies.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalhydrogenreview.com/hydrogen/30062025/mainzer-to-develop-hydrogen-pipeline-in-germany/