Oldenburg, March 21, 2025. The energy service provider EWE is pushing ahead with the conversion of its gas storage site in the Wesermarsch for the storage of hydrogen. As part of the four-part large-scale project "Clean Hydrogen Coastline", EWE has commissioned NEUMAN & ESSER to supply two compressors. These compressors form a central component for future large-scale hydrogen storage in a converted natural gas cavern. EWE wants to store hydrogen in it from 2027. From then on, the green gas can be available when it is needed, not when it is produced. Large-scale hydrogen storage thus improves the safe and flexible supply of future hydrogen users.
The project is an important step towards integrating green hydrogen technology into the existing energy infrastructure and a key project for the energy transition. In this way, EWE is making a significant contribution to security of supply and the ramp-up of a hydrogen economy. "We are very pleased that we can make a decisive contribution to the development of the green hydrogen economy in Germany by supplying the heart of the hydrogen storage facility," says Jens Wulff, Managing Director of NEUMAN & ESSER Germany, "and that the funding commitments from the German government and the state of Lower Saxony last summer for the EWE 'Clean Hydrogen Coastline' project paved the way for strategically important projects like this one. The conclusion of the contract with EWE shows our determination to implement these major projects quickly."
Hydrogen storage to stabilise the energy supply
EWE is converting one of seven underground natural gas caverns at its cavern site in Huntorf in the Wesermarsch to store hydrogen. The Huntorf project is part of the large-scale connecting project "Clean Hydrogen Coastline". This brings together the production, storage, transport and use of green hydrogen and thus implements the political demands. EWE received the funding notices for the four-part large-scale project as part of the European IPCEI programme (Important Project of Common European Interest) in the summer of 2024. EWE is currently in the detailed planning phase and intends to store and withdraw hydrogen as early as the next two to three years.
Proven technology for innovative applications
The awarding of the compressors to NEUMAN & ESSER is a decisive milestone in the implementation of the project. The family-owned company was chosen for its extensive experience and technical expertise. The compressors play a central role in the storage and removal of hydrogen from the cavern, ensuring maximum safety and efficiency.
Research work for transferability to Wesermarsch cavern
EWE has provided proof that hydrogen can be safely stored in salt caverns as part of a research project at its gas storage site in Rüdersdorf near Berlin. The company is now transferring the knowledge gained from the construction and operation of the 500 cubic metre test cavern to caverns with a volume of 1,000 times, such as in Huntorf in the Wesermarsch. "Our goal is to establish large-scale caverns for hydrogen storage. With 37 salt caverns, EWE alone has more than 15 percent of all German cavern storage facilities that are suitable for storing hydrogen," says Peter Schmidt, Managing Director of EWE GASSPEICHER.
Despite the technological success, there are challenges at the regulatory level. According to Peter Schmidt, an important first step was already the identification of the enormous demand for cavern storage facilities, for example in the long-term scenarios of the Federal Ministry of Economics. "Political guardrails are now needed very quickly, especially in view of the long implementation times for the construction of the underground storage facilities. In order to be able to make investment decisions for further hydrogen storage projects, a suitable regulatory framework and thus a bankable financing model are essential for us," says Peter Schmidt.
Contribution to the energy transition and regional development
With the "Clean Hydrogen Coastline" project and the first large-scale hydrogen storage facility in the Wesermarsch, EWE is strengthening the regional economy and securing the future viability of the energy supply. At the same time, the energy service provider is actively shaping the energy transition. "For us, hydrogen is one of the core building blocks of the energy transition. It makes fluctuating renewables available at all times, because hydrogen can be stored on a large scale. And where natural gas is currently stored underground, we also intend to store hydrogen in the future," says Peter Schmidt. The company has decades of experience in the construction and operation of natural gas storage facilities. The construction and operation of hydrogen caverns are technically comparable.
The four-part project "Clean Hydrogen Coastline" to build a hydrogen economy in northwestern Germany is supported and funded by:
