Unter Druck gesetzter Stahl, fehlende Nachfrage: Deutschlands Wasserstoff-Backbone in den Energieflüssen* - CleanTechnica

The article critically examines Germany's national hydrogen backbone infrastructure, highlighting a fundamental mismatch between its design assumptions and the actual energy system needs. The hydrogen pipeline network, described as "real steel in the ground, under pressure," is being built on the premise that hydrogen will be the primary energy carrier, especially to sustain raw-material-based industrial applications. However, detailed analysis using three comprehensive Sankey diagrams of Germany’s 2024 energy flows reveals that hydrogen plays at best a niche role and at worst represents an expensive detour in the energy transition. The current energy system is dominated by fossil fuels with significant energy losses, especially as waste heat from combustion engines and industrial processes, underscoring that Germany’s climate challenge is primarily an efficiency problem rather than just a fuel substitution issue. The first Sankey diagram illustrates Germany’s 2024 energy system, showing a total primary energy input of about 2,900 TWh, with over half lost as waste heat. This inefficiency highlights that decarbonization efforts