With its extensive natural gas network and connected gas storage facilities, Germany has an infrastructure that can also be used for hydrogen to a certain extent. However, additional pipelines are needed to reliably transport the quantities of hydrogen that will be required in the future to the places where fossil fuels are to be replaced. For this reason, a large-scale hydrogen network – known as the hydrogen core network – is currently being developed in Germany. It is intended to serve as a central transport infrastructure, connecting production sites, storage facilities, industrial centres and consumption regions.

Due to the high pressure, the large main pipelines are made of steel. Flexible plastic pipes, on the other hand, will be used for the branches and fine distribution within the network. These offer several advantages: they can be laid in very long sections without joints and are also corrosion-resistant. They are also economically attractive, as they can be installed particularly efficiently using modern, trenchless laying methods such as ploughing or milling – with laying rates of over 1,000 metres per day. At the same time, these methods are environmentally friendly, as they have a significantly lower impact on nature and the soil. However, hydrogen places special demands on the materials. How must the gas networks of tomorrow be designed for 100% hydrogen?