The agreement on the construction of a hydrogen pipeline is causing concern among the Danish energy industry, especially over the requirement to commit to using 44% of the pipeline’s capacity, Danish daily Berlingske reports.

The media has spoken with David Dupont-Mourtizen, project director at the green asset manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). He states that the technology required for the pipeline will ”be a challenge to deliver,” leading to reservations among private players. 

In addition to CIP, Green Power Denmark, the Confederation of Danish Industry and the Danish Hydrogen Industry have also expressed concerns about parts of the new hydrogen agreement, including the lack of a guarantee that the hydrogen pipe will be built and the fact that it will be difficult for the industry to borrow money if there is no guarantee that the energy produced can be sold.

However, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard urges players to remain calm and refers to the fact that the obligation to the companies is included in the agreement based on a recognition that there must be risk sharing between the private and public sectors. 

The DKK 15bn (EUR 2bn) hydrogen pipeline will connect Denmark and Germany so that Danish manufacturers can supply green hydrogen to German consumers.

(Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Catherine Brett)