RWE AG and Equinor AS said they would build new hydrogen-ready gas power plants, as well as a pipeline to send the green fuel to Germany from Norway.

The move is part of an effort by Germany — Europe’s industrial powerhouse — to reduce planet-warming emissions and wean itself off Russian gas.

RWE and Equinor’s power stations will be constructed in Germany with a capacity of 3 gigawatts and initially powered by gas. They will be ready around 2028 and 2029.

The gas-powered plants will switch their fuel when volumes and technology are available, and should be fully based on hydrogen by the mid-2030s. The cost of the link is estimated to be around €3 billion.

Germany will need more gas-powered plants to guarantee electricity security in the next decade. That’s as the country wants to cut carbon emissions 65% by 2030 from 1990 levels and neutralize them by 2045. Norway has set similar climate targets and plans to build offshore wind farms and carbon-capture plants.

Germany is also considering options for underground carbon storage to help make industries like steel, aluminum and cement greener. The technology is highly controversial in Germany and has so far been banned for commercial use, mainly due to local resistance.

Source: Bloomberg

Image: Shutterstock/Waldis Putnins