Germany and Norway want to produce and use more clean energy together. Both countries concluded agreements Thursday on, among other things, hydrogen, offshore wind farms, and underground carbon dioxide storage.
Until recently, Germany was highly dependent on Russia for its energy supply. Now that the Russians can hardly supply them with any gas, the Germans have to look for other suppliers. So Norway became the most important supplier of gas for Germany. Another factor is that the eastern neighbors want to make their economy more sustainable
For example, Germany wants to build power plants in the future that supply energy made from sustainably produced hydrogen. Then the hydrogen must come from Norway.
The condition is the existence of a pipeline by which hydrogen can be transported from Norway to Germany. The Norwegian pipeline operator Gasco is currently investigating the feasibility of this. If all goes according to plan, the pipeline could be operational in 2030.
The two countries also want to make it possible to capture and store carbon dioxide underground. This is still currently prohibited in Germany, but there are plans to amend the law next year. “It is better to have carbon dioxide underground than in the air,” German Economics Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.
“Infuriatingly humble social media buff. Twitter advocate. Writer. Internet nerd.”