German company Gascade and Belgian company Fluxys have applied to the European Commission for granting their major project – the AquaDuctus – the Projects of Common Interest (PCI) status. The
AquaDuctus is to be one of the pillars of future German and European hydrogen infrastructure.

Located on the North Sea floor, the AquaDuctus will enable the import of hydrogen to Germany. The hydrogen is to be produced using energy from offshore winds.
It is designed as a “backbone”, capable of collecting hydrogen from multiple production sites, while
offering the capability to connect with other international hydrogen projects in the North Sea.

�� A major step forward in ours and @GTGascade’s #AquaDuctus offshore #hydrogen pipeline in the North Sea, a
key project for Europe’s future energy supply and the pursuit of climate neutrality. �� We applied to the European
Commission for Project of Common Interest status. �� pic.twitter.com/FzSStZwdkx

— Fluxys (@FluxysGroup) January 24, 2023

In the first stage, AquaDuctus will be connected to German wind farm SEN-1, which will become operational in 2030.

In subsequent years, wind farms further offshore in Germany’s exclusive economic zone may be connected, as well as hydrogen infrastructure operated by other North Sea countries.

By 2035, the offshore pipeline is expected to develop into a major hydrogen corridor transporting up to one million tons of hydrogen to Germany annually. For the specific use-case, the pipeline concept has been proven to be more economic and technically feasible compared to other transport concepts. According to the study, the potential for hydrogen production in the German and European North Sea is 100 GW per year.