Hydrogen pipeline planned - Habeck seals energy partnership with Norway

Germany and Norway also want to work more closely together in the long term in the energy and climate crisis. Vice Chancellor and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Störe agreed on a strategic partnership on Thursday in Oslo. A key point should be the construction of a hydrogen pipeline between the countries by 2030.

The Norwegian Equinor wants to use this to deliver hydrogen produced with natural gas and later with renewable energy to Germany, where RWE wants to buy it. "We know that hydrogen is particularly important for the green transformation and for Germany," said Störe. Habeck said the fuel is also important for new power plants. “We want to build gas-fired power plants that run on hydrogen. This hydrogen can and should be provided from Norway.”

The states also want to work together on underground storage of the greenhouse gas CO2. This so-called CCS technology (Carbon Capture and Storage) is prohibited in Germany. However, Habeck wants changes here to make CO2 separation possible for the steel or cement industry. In view of the climate goals, there is no longer any time to look for other alternatives: "It's better to put the CO2 into the earth than into the atmosphere," he said. Norway is also developing storage for CO2 from other countries as a business model.

After the almost complete stop of Russian natural gas deliveries, Norway has already become the most important supplier. More than a third of Germany's demand comes from there.

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