Equinor : and German energy major RWE to cooperate on energy security and decarbonization

Germany has an ambition to phase out all coal fired power plants by 2030. Several projects for building new hydrogen-ready powerplants in Germany have been identified, replacing existing power production from coal. Until large-scale hydrogen production is developed, the power plants will be fueled by natural gas from Equinor. Replacing coal is the first carbon-reduction step, reducing CO2 emissions materially. Norway is the largest supplier of natural gas to Europe and Norwegian gas comes with the lowest carbon footprint compared to other gas supply.

The next decarbonization step is to replace natural gas with low carbon hydrogen, produced in Norway and delivered via a hydrogen pipeline to Germany. Over time, large-scale renewable hydrogen production from offshore wind projects in Germany and Norway will complement and replace low carbon hydrogen.

Industrial scale and reliable supply of hydrogen to Germany and the EU, depends on the construction of a hydrogen pipeline from Norway to Germany. This is currently under evaluation by Gassco and partners in the context of the German-Norwegian feasibility study. The pipeline would initially transport low carbon hydrogen, produced by capturing more than 95 percent of the CO2 from natural gas, using existing and proven technologies.

In parallel, Equinor and RWE will collaborate to develop renewable hydrogen production from future large-scale offshore wind projects in Germany and Norway. As renewable hydrogen production increases, this would complement and eventually replace low carbon hydrogen in the pipeline, leading to delivery of fully decarbonised baseload fuel and feedstock, supplying industries and supporting intermittent power generation from renewables.

Both RWE and Equinor aim to take leading positions in the energy transition. To achieve a fully decarbonized energy system, the parties depend on the collaboration with governments, local authorities, regulators, communities, industry partners, suppliers, and others. For the infrastructure and projects under the Memorandum of Understanding to become commercially viable, appropriate regulatory support mechanisms will be required.