„HEp, HEp, Hurray!“

On 14 March 2025, we finally received planning approval for HEp, our first dedicated H₂ pipeline. Of course, we had made all the necessary arrangements, so we were able to get going straight away. Work began the following Monday, and the pipeline has been officially under construction ever since.

For this project we have teamed up with Nowega GmbH, who will transport hydrogen in the future. The HEp pipeline will run from Heek to Epe in the district of Borken. It will connect the cavern storage field in Epe, where RWE Gas Storage West is building its first hydrogen storage facility, with an existing pipeline from Emsland to the northern Ruhr area, which is being repurposed to transport hydrogen. The pipelines are an essential part of the hydrogen network in the region. With a diameter of DN 400 and a total length of around 11 kilometres, HEp will be a comparatively ‘small’ pipeline but nevertheless a fundamental part of the GET-H2 initiative’s hydrogen nucleus. It is scheduled for commissioning at the end of the year. The fact that the HEp has been officially recognised as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) and is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection following a decision by the German Bundestag and by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia also speaks for its importance. 

We are delighted to announce the start of this project and will of course keep you posted with updates on construction progress.