In addition to the draft legislation on the adaptation of the Energy Industry Law to the requirements of EU law, which was presented at the beginning of May, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) has now for the first time presented a draft for the establishment of a hydrogen core network. This also affects regulations in the Energy Industry Act (EnWG).
The aim of the draft is to achieve a rapid ramp-up of the hydrogen market in order to promote decarbonization. The draft legislation focuses on the newly introduced Section 28r EnWG, which prescribes the provision of a hydrogen core network and regulates in detail in which steps, in which timeframe, through which measures and by which actors the hydrogen expansion is to take place.
Specifically, the draft provides that transmission system operators will have to jointly submit an application for approval of a hydrogen core network to the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) within three weeks of the regulation coming into force. The application should indicate the expected investment and operating costs of the respective hydrogen infrastructure and when the hydrogen infrastructure is expected to be commissioned. If possible, the hydrogen infrastructure should be built on the basis of existing pipelines. In the case of conversion of a natural gas infrastructure to hydrogen, the draft legislation requires proof that the natural gas infrastructure can be decoupled from the transmission network and that the remaining network can continue to meet the remaining natural gas demand.
The draft also specifies the requirements that must be met for a hydrogen infrastructure to be approved as a hydrogen core network. Among other things, the hydrogen infrastructure must be located in the Federal Republic of Germany, its planned commissioning must be scheduled (presumably) for the end of 2030 or 2032, and it must be part of at least one of the projects described in more detail in the draft. These include, for example, publicly funded projects, projects to establish a European water network or approved IPCEI projects. IPCEI stands for Important Project of Common European Interest. It is a funding program involving 22 European Member States and Norway.
The transmission system operators shall propose companies responsible for the implementation of the project. If no proposal is made, or if the proposal is not suitable, the BNetzA may designate a suitable company. However, only those companies that have declared that they agree to the inclusion of their infrastructure facilities in the hydrogen core network can be required to carry out the project.
In addition, a cooperation requirement between gas distribution system operators, hydrogen network operators, operators of other pipeline infrastructures that can be converted for the transport of hydrogen, and companies that have registered hydrogen projects with transmission system operators is provided for the application. The cooperation includes, in particular, obligations for information disclosure and information exchange.
Provided that all requirements are met, the BNetzA must approve the hydrogen core network within two months of the submission of the application. If the hydrogen infrastructure cannot be approved on the basis of the application submitted, the BNetzA may request amendments to the application, which the applicants must implement within a specified period.
If the transmission system operators do not submit an application within the three-week period, the BNetzA itself will designate and publish a hydrogen core network within four months. In this case, the companies involved will be required to provide information to the BNetzA. In addition, the BNetzA will be able to designate companies responsible for the project.
In terms of planning law, the approval should result in the projects being considered necessary and urgent for the energy industry. In addition, the hydrogen infrastructures should be considered to be in the overriding public interest.
In addition to the regulation on the development of a hydrogen core network, the German government is to be authorized to issue ordinances regulating the fees for network users and obliging the operators of hydrogen networks to establish uniform network fees. In addition, the federal government is to be authorized to issue ordinances on economic compensation mechanisms between operators of hydrogen networks. This is intended to redistribute or offset the costs incurred.
(16 May 2023)