Berlin.
Norway has become Germany’s most important energy supplier. This should remain the case on the way to climate neutrality.
As a travel destination for German politicians Norway had a steep career in the past year. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is there for the second time this week, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has also been to Oslo, Green Party leader Ricarda Lang ended up in the country as part of her summer trip.
With the scenic beauty of the fjords or the Attractions However, this development has nothing to do with the Norwegian capital. Rather, the new affinity for Norway is a sign of how much more important Germany’s relationship with the kingdom has become in a short space of time. Because with the cessation of Russian gas supplies, Norway has risen to become the most important energy supplier for Germany.
Gas: Norway has increased supplies significantly
When it became apparent that Europe on the Russian gas deliveries could no longer build, the Norwegian government reacted quickly to the plight of its neighbors. The country increased its natural gas production capacity by eight percent last year, as much as it could in the short time available.
The German Economics and Climate Protection Minister expressly thanked him for this during a meeting with the Norwegian Prime Minister on Thursday Jonas Gahr Store. “So far we have prevented the worst that threatened in the summer,” said Habeck. A meltdown in German and European industry has been averted for the time being.
Norway is reliable – but there is a risk
The Green politician is in Oslo to hold talks with Støre and several Norwegian ministers to deepen cooperation. On many levels, it is a partnership that Germany wants. Norway is a NATO member and although not an EU country union closely connected. It is not to be expected that the kingdom will be as capricious with delivery commitments as some other energy suppliers are. Yet there is concern that this source, too, could be disrupted. The acts of sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines over the past year have highlighted the vulnerability of the infrastructure that transports energy across Europe.
Around 9,000 kilometers of pipeline distribute Norwegian gas and oil around the world, long stretches of which run along the seabed. Protecting such long connections is “almost like trying to use police cars to monitor traffic on the entire A7 between Flensburg and Kempten,” says Sebastian Bruns, an expert in maritime security from the University of Kiel. There are technical ways to monitor the pipelines, for example to observe whether there is a sudden drop in pressure. But in the end, he says, it is “difficult to impossible to effectively protect this critical infrastructure.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Støre said on Thursday that vigilance had been increased to guarantee uninterrupted deliveries. A pipeline commission is to meet at the end of the month, in which the countries want to exchange knowledge and measures to secure the infrastructure.
The oil and gas country Norway wants to continue supplying energy after the fossil era
But the governments of both countries are looking beyond the acute crisis: Norway, which has become rich from the sale of fossil fuels, should still be an important partner according to the plans of the Ministry of Economic Affairs when the age of oil and gas is finally over – then as a supplier of hydrogen.
Green hydrogen, produced by the electrolysis of water using renewable energy, is regarded as a beacon of hope for the energy transition: In industrial processes that cannot be electrified, it should be the climate-neutral replacement for fossil fuels, and in electricity production hydrogen power plants should step in in the future on days where renewable energies do not provide sufficient electricity. The federal government is counting on the fact that there are power plants that run 100 percent with green hydrogen. But German industry’s hunger for energy is great, and supply has been scarce so far. A functioning value chain and a market must therefore be established within a few years.
Germany and Norway have now agreed on a cooperation that is intended to speed up this process. A pipeline is to be built by 2030 to bring hydrogen from Norway to Germany. A feasibility study on this should be completed this spring.
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Habeck defends blue hydrogen as an interim solution
First of all, however, it should be so-called blue hydrogen that arrives via this pipeline, obtained from natural gas and with the separation of CO2. According to Habeck, green hydrogen will later be produced directly in offshore wind farms and fed into the pipeline. The plans are being implemented by RWE and the Norwegian energy group Equinor, among others. By 2038, Equinor wants to create capacities for the production of up to 10 gigawatts of blue hydrogen and is said to be one of the customers.
The construction of the entire infrastructure for the production, transport and use of hydrogen is also “an invitation” for German mechanical engineering, said the Minister of Economic Affairs. Habeck defended the use of blue hydrogen as a necessary interim solution until sufficient green hydrogen is available. Germany is not in a position to be picky. Norway is likely to remain popular as a travel destination in German politics for the foreseeable future.
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