Danish hydrogen pipeline to Germany clears the bar: 0.557 GW booked, above the 0.5 GW requirement

Danish system operator Energinet announced on 4 November that hydrogen companies have booked more than the 0.5 GW of transport capacity required as one of the conditions for building the Danish Hydrogen Backbone 1 pipeline. The contracts signed total 0.557 GW on the future link across the Danish-German border, a month before the 1 December 2026 deadline.

What unlocked the bookings. According to Energinet, several market players submitted bookings after a broad majority in the Folketing reached a supplementary political agreement in September that changed the terms. The agreement extends the option period to 31 December 2027, raises the state's cover for Energinet's potential stranded costs from DKK 417.4 million to DKK 2.1 billion until the end of 2027, and increases state operating support from DKK 10.9 billion to DKK 16.5 billion. Danish regulator Forsyningstilsynet approved the amended capacity-sale method on 2 October.

Not yet binding. “We have followed the development in capacity bookings closely, and the suspense over the 2026 booking requirement has now been resolved for the time being,” said Michael Linnemann Pedersen, head of Megaprojects at Energinet. He stressed that the bookings are not binding at this stage, as producers can terminate their contracts until 31 December 2027. The next decisive step comes at the end of 2027, when participants must commit financially to at least 0.1 GW.

The numbers. According to Energinet, the same capacity has been booked on the German side of the border. On the PRISMA platform bookings are shown in gross calorific value; to obtain the net calorific value in which the requirement is set, the figures must be divided by 1.18. Linea Søgaard-Lidell, director of the new industry association Hydrogen Denmark, told trade outlet Energy Supply she expects investments worth billions of kroner in green hydrogen production.

What comes next. The political ambition is for the infrastructure to start operating by the end of 2030. Energinet acknowledges that the timetable is tight and that the project is still at an early stage, with many major activities ahead.

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