The H2 Connector is a facility that connects three different hydrogen infrastructure networks: the large-scale electrolyzer at the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub, the nationwide hydrogen core network, and Hamburg’s distribution network, HH-WIN. Since the networks operate at different pressures, a gas pressure regulation system and a compressor station equalize the pressure in both directions.
Ahydrogen injection facility also feeds locally produced electrolytic hydrogen into the distribution network. This allows Hamburg to import hydrogen from the nationwide network as needed or to export surplus hydrogen produced locally.
Connection to the transmission network
The transmission network operated by Gasunie reaches Hamburg in the municipality of Rosengarten, in Lower Saxony. There, the operating pressure is up to 70 bar. The HH-WIN distribution network, on the other hand, operates at a pressure of up to 25 bar. The gas pressure regulation station at the Moorburg site reduces the pressure from the transmission network accordingly. The energy reaches Moorburg via a high-pressure pipeline more than 13 kilometers long with an operating pressure of 70 bar. The pipeline transports hydrogen in both directions.
About 70 percent of the pipelines in the Hyperlink transmission network are based on the retrofitting of existing natural gas pipelines. This retrofitting will allow parts of the network to be put into operation as early as the launch of HH-WIN.
Capacity for the Hydrogen Economy at the Port
In the first phase of expansion, the facilities in Moorburg are designed for an hourly export capacity of up to 200,000 standard cubic meters of hydrogen energy to the long-distance transmission network. The import capacity to Hamburg is up to 360,000 standard cubic meters per hour. This transport capacity is equivalent to the consumption of 4,500 fully loaded 40-metric-ton hydrogen-powered trucks traveling at full speed.
Starting in the fall of 2027, theHH-WIN hydrogen distribution network—with a total length of 40 kilometers—will supply industrial areas around the Port of Hamburg. By 2031, the network will grow to 60 kilometers in length. Half of the first expansion phase, comprising 40 kilometers of pipeline, has been completed. The remaining sections are either under construction or in the process of being contracted out.
Funding and CO2 Reduction
The construction costs for the H2 Connector amount to approximately 22.6 million euros. The costs for the compressor station are not included in this figure, as it is still in the planning phase. Approximately 16.3 million euros of the costs are covered by IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) funding for the overall HH-WIN project.
Through HH-WIN, the industrial sector consumes 6.4 terawatt-hours of fossil natural gas annually. If it replaces this amount with climate-neutral hydrogen, this would result in a projected CO₂ reduction of 1.4 million metric tons per year starting in 2032.
