A leaked document and analysis by Global Witness indicate that a proposed pipeline by Equinor to export fossil hydrogen from Norway to Germany could receive EU subsidies.

The project would depend on new hydrogen plants producing “blue hydrogen” from fossil gas, raising environmental concerns. The research suggests that the planned hydrogen production in Norway would burn 13.7 billion cubic meters of fossil gas annually, equivalent to the combined annual consumption of fossil gas in Ireland, Denmark, and Portugal. The project could receive funding from a €5.4 billion EU subsidy pot if included in the final ‘Projects of Common Interest’ list.

Dominic Eagleton, senior fossil fuels campaigner at Global Witness, said: “Not only are Shell, Equinor and RWE plotting to lock Europe into a future of climate-wrecking fossil gas, but Equinor are on track to get public funds from the EU to make it happen. As the climate crisis deepens, the very least we should expect is for taxpayers’ money to not be wasted on fossil fuels – this project should be a non-starter, and we urge the EU not to support it.”

RWE, the German electricity producer, is also a key player in this hydrogen mega project. It plans to use the imported hydrogen to fuel what it claims are ‘hydrogen-ready’ power plants in Germany, but the company intends to switch the plants from fossil gas to hydrogen only “gradually.”

The companies claim that a high proportion of the emissions from hydrogen production will be trapped by carbon capture and storage systems (CCS). Yet over 80% of CCS projects have failed globally, and many that remain operational are capturing far less carbon than intended. Global Witness research from 2022 showed that the CCS system at Shell’s hydrogen plant in Alberta, Canada – one of the only large-scale ‘blue hydrogen’ plants currently operating – was emitting more climate-wrecking gases than it was capturing.

A leaked document seen by Global Witness confirms that Equinor’s blue hydrogen pipeline is the only gas-dependent installation on a draft European Commission list of energy infrastructure projects. If included in the final ‘Projects of Common Interest’ list, the pipeline would benefit from a faster permitting process and can apply for a funding from a €5.4bn pot of EU subsidies. [4]

Equinor’s push for public funding follows talks earlier in 2023 between Germany’s vice-chancellor Robert Habeck and Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who had previously lobbied Berlin to develop a German hydrogen market supplied by imports of blue hydrogen from Norway.

Norway and Germany subsequently published a joint statement confirming their commitment to developing a large-scale supply of hydrogen and pipeline infrastructure between the two countries.

The European Commission is due to publish its list of energy projects by the end of November.