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Hydrogen Backbone

Term Hydrogen backbone hydrogen Infrastructure pipeline Industry Energy Infrastructure

Hydrogen backbone (in German roughly "Wasserstoff-Rückgrat", i.e. "hydrogen spine") refers to a supraregional pipeline network for pure hydrogen. It is intended to connect production sites, import points, storage facilities and large consumers. It does not mean a single pipeline, but a coherent transport infrastructure with nodes, compressor stations, entry and exit points, as well as metering and transfer stations. Such a network consists of hydrogen pipelines laid one after another, partly from repurposed natural gas pipelines and partly from new construction. The term is not equivalent to the hydrogen network as a whole: the backbone is its long-distance transmission level, just as motorways are only one part of the road network.

The term is used in two meanings that should be kept apart. In general, it describes any long-distance hydrogen transmission network. As a proper name, "European Hydrogen Backbone" (EHB) stands for an initiative of European gas network and storage operators that has been publishing target visions for a Europe-wide network since 2020. These maps are industry visions and not approved plans. Binding planning and regulation of networks, by contrast, take place in national procedures, in Germany for example via the hydrogen core network (Wasserstoff-Kernnetz).

Technical characteristics

A backbone transports large quantities of hydrogen under high pressure over long distances. Its performance is reflected less in pipeline length than in transport capacities. These are usually stated as an energy flow, for example in gigawatts or in kWh/h, and additionally as annual volumes in terawatt-hours or tonnes. A rough conversion helps put this in context: based on the calorific value, one kilogram of hydrogen contains around 33.3 kWh. In addition there are pressure levels, operating rules and the agreed hydrogen purity at the transfer points. Fuel cells, for example, are more sensitive to impurities than many industrial processes.

A natural gas pipeline is not automatically a hydrogen pipeline. Per unit of volume, hydrogen has a considerably lower energy density than methane. The small molecule diffuses more easily, and in certain steels it can promote embrittlement. It also places different demands on seals, compressors and measurement technology. Repurposing is often cheaper and faster than new construction, but requires material testing, technical adaptations and new operating rules. A pipeline also cannot transport natural gas and pure hydrogen at the same time. It can therefore only be converted once it is dispensable for natural gas supply.

Status in Germany: the hydrogen core network

On 22 October 2024, the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency) approved, with amendments, the hydrogen core network applied for by the transmission system operators. It comprises 9,040 kilometres of pipelines, which are to be put into operation gradually by 2032. Around 60 percent of this consists of converted natural gas pipelines. Originally, 9,721 kilometres had been applied for in the draft and 9,668 kilometres in the final application.

According to FNB Gas, the investment costs amount to 18.9 billion euros. The feed-in capacity is around 101 GW, the off-take capacity around 87 GW. Under the German Energy Industry Act (Energiewirtschaftsgesetz), individual measures may be spread out over time until 2037 if they are only needed later. The core network is reviewed and further developed every two years as part of the integrated network development planning for gas and hydrogen. The network development plan is thus the second stage after the core network. Pipelines to individual customers in the distribution network are not part of the core network.

For financing, the Bundesnetzagentur has set a nationwide uniform ramp-up charge (Hochlaufentgelt) of 25 euros per kWh/h of booked capacity per year. Payment is therefore made for the booked capacity, not for the quantity of energy transported. Behind the ramp-up charge there is an amortisation account. It absorbs initial shortfalls and is to be balanced by 2055. This means the few first users do not have to bear the full costs of the network. Since 19 March 2026, companies can bindingly reserve entry and exit capacities. The rules for capacity marketing and balancing are to be applied from 1 January 2028.

According to the interim review by the transmission system operators of October 2026, 537 kilometres were in operation. Around 900 further kilometres are to be added by the end of 2027. The largest section is a converted route of about 400 kilometres from Lubmin on the Baltic Sea to Bobbau in Saxony-Anhalt, which was filled with hydrogen in December 2025. Measured against the target of 9,040 kilometres, the build-out is therefore still at an early stage.

European level

In 2022, the EHB initiative presented a vision for around 53,000 kilometres of hydrogen pipelines in 28 countries by 2040. About 60 percent were to be repurposed natural gas pipelines. The estimated investments were 80 to 143 billion euros. These figures are industry estimates and not adopted plans. The legal framework is set by the EU gas and hydrogen internal market package of June 2024, consisting of Directive (EU) 2024/1788 and Regulation (EU) 2024/1789. Among other things, it regulates hydrogen network operators, network access, unbundling, quality management, cooperation on repurposing and a European network of network operators for hydrogen (ENNOH). Member States must transpose the directive into national law. In Germany, an amendment to the Energy Industry Act (Energiewirtschaftsgesetz) was under way in 2026 for this purpose.

Role in the energy system

Production and consumption are often geographically far apart. An electrolyser is preferably located where a lot of renewable electricity is available. Imports arrive at ports or border crossing points, and a salt cavern as storage exists only in suitable geological formations. Steel, chemical and refinery sites, by contrast, have grown historically. The backbone connects these points. Without it, production and demand would remain limited to local islands, or transport would run via more expensive logistics by truck, rail or ship.

For the electricity system, the backbone above all brings flexibility. If electrolysers are connected to storage facilities via a network, they do not have to follow consumption exactly every hour. They can produce more in times of plentiful wind and solar power. The pipelines themselves only buffer in the short term through their line pack. Seasonal shifts require storage. The backbone does not replace an electricity grid: electrolysers need high-capacity electricity connections, and many applications can be supplied more efficiently through direct electrification.

Common oversimplifications

  • Pipeline kilometres are no proof of demand. A network only creates the possibility of transport. Industrial companies only switch once volumes, prices, permits and sales markets are secured. Without anchor customers, the network bears high fixed costs with uncertain utilisation.

  • The assumption that construction may only begin once demand is secured is equally oversimplified. Producers, network operators and consumers wait for one another. Regulation, amortisation models and network planning therefore address precisely this coordination task.

  • A backbone is not a replacement network for today's natural gas use. It primarily targets industry, power plants and storage facilities. For space heating in individual buildings, electric solutions are usually more obvious.

  • Import terminals are not the same as a backbone. Anyone landing ammonia or another hydrogen derivative additionally needs conversion, storage and a network connection so that the hydrogen reaches the inland.

A hydrogen backbone is thus the transport foundation of possible large-scale hydrogen use, but not yet proof of it. Whether it becomes a viable infrastructure depends less on the length of planned pipelines. What is decisive is whether production, storage, industrial conversion, regulation and actual utilisation grow in a coordinated way.

Sources

Edited by eCMS on 12.11.2026 05:10

© 2026 Erik Schmidt. All rights reserved. Quotations with a link to the source are welcome.