RAG is gradually moving forward with its strategy of storing summer electricity for the winter and using hydrogen and former gas storage facilities for this purpose. A significant step in this context is the transport of hydrogen across borders. RAG is already storing large quantities of natural gas under Upper Austrian soil. These gas storage facilities could be converted into hydrogen storage facilities in the medium term, says RAG boss Markus Mitteregger.
It has had itself certified that it has turned green electricity into green hydrogen. It now mixes this with the natural gas (two percent) and delivers it via a pipeline to the Bavarian customer Meggle. “This is no longer a test operation, it works in daily practice,” says Mitteregger in an interview with OÖNachrichten. RAG has been producing and storing hydrogen in Pilsbach since 2015. It is now being stored in the natural gas network in Gampern. For now it’s a modest amount of 100,000 cubic meters per year. But an increase of one million is possible quickly. The plan is to build additional electrolyzers so that Upper Austrian solar and hydroelectric power can be stored. “Hydrogen is the basis for transporting electricity over long distances,” says Mitteregger. RAG has projects in western Ukraine that are promising.
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According to Mitteregger, it is important that hydrogen-compatible lines are built quickly. “We need a line to Bavaria because we are one of the most important suppliers for southern Germany. Gas power plants are being built there to secure the base load in the power grid. And they quickly need gas or hydrogen.” There are also plans to build a line from Sattledt to Linz, where Linz AG supplies 80 percent of households with district heating; green hydrogen is also important for this. Because in district heating, this should gradually replace fossil natural gas.
RAG currently has a storage capacity of 1.2 million cubic meters for hydrogen. But once you can use the gas storage facilities, completely different dimensions arise. It’s about 6.5 billion cubic meters and 20 terawatt hours.
Author
Dietmar Mascher
Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Head of Business Editor
Dietmar Mascher
