German speciality chemicals company Evonik Industries AG (ETR:EVK) has made a pipeline of more than 50 kilometres (31.07 miles) ready to transport hydrogen to the Marl Chemical Park and the Gelsenkirchen refinery in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The connection, starting in Legden in northern North Rhine-Westphalia, consists of a 41-kilometre former natural gas pipeline repurposed for hydrogen transport, a newly built three-kilometre section crossing the Marl Chemical Park, and a roughly ten-kilometre hydrogen pipeline leading to the refinery in Gelsenkirchen-Scholven. The pipeline system enables the transport of hydrogen to be produced using several hundred megawatts of electrolysis capacity in northern Germany.

The pipeline is part of the GET H2 Nukleus project, which aims to connect the green hydrogen production in northern Germany with industrial customers in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.

“In almost two years of intensive project work, we and our partners have successfully converted a natural gas pipeline for hydrogen operation and built new sections,” said Andreas Cieslik, Head of Evonik’s Pipeline Business.

The Marl chemicals site is gaining importance as a hydrogen hub as Evonik recently launched a start-up to produce green methanol by combining captured carbon dioxide with 200 tonnes of green hydrogen annually. The site also hosts the Rheticus research project, which uses hydrogen and bacteria in artificial photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide into speciality chemicals. In addition, Evonik is investing a low double-digit million-euro sum in a pilot plant to produce its proprietary anion exchange membrane, a key component for green hydrogen production via AEM electrolysis.

By: Anna Vassileva / Jun 4, 2025.