KfW backs Nowega's gas network plans, incl hydrogen transportation

KfW IPEX-Bank will provide financing to support the expansion and operation of the gas network of German company Nowega GmbH, a partner in Germany’s first project to transport green hydrogen.

The bank recently announced it will provide roughly EUR 40 million (USD 48.6m) of debt capital to the gas network operator, with a further EUR 40 million coming from DekaBank. KfW IPEX-Bank said this would be its first-ever financing for hydrogen infrastructure.

Nowega is the transmission system operator of a gas network that is some 1,500 km long in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It will use the financing to secure gas supply during peak load periods and to boost the network operation efficiency.

In March 2020, Nowega was announced as one of the partners in the GET H2 Nukleus project, which will link producers of green hydrogen in Lower Saxony with industrial customers in North Rhine-Westphalia. The company will convert around 120 km of existing gas transport pipelines for the transport of renewable hydrogen and it will also build a new hydrogen supply main, with further investments set to follow.

Chemicals producer Evonik said back in March that green hydrogen production and supply to customers under GET H2 Nukleus would start by the end of 2022 if possible. OGE, BP (LON:BP) and RWE (ETR:RWE) are also part of the project.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.22)

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