BadenovaNETZE, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Freiburg-based energy company Badenova, has begun construction on a significant hydrogen pipeline in Germany's Upper Rhine region, marking a key step in the nation's planned core hydrogen network.

According to the company’s announcement last Friday, the H2@Hochrhein project will establish an approximately 36-mile (58-kilometre) pipeline connecting Grenzach-Wyhlen and Waldshut-Tiengen, near the Swiss border. 

Expected to be operational by 2030, the new pipeline is expected to deliver green hydrogen to energy-intensive industries throughout the Upper Rhine, bolstering Germany’s efforts to transition to a low-emission and renewable energy economy in the coming years. 

Construction commenced in March 2025 with an initial 5.6-mile (9-kilometre) segment between the municipalities of Albbruck and Dogern. And by late April, approximately 1,150 feet (350 meters) of pipe had been successfully laid.

"The transformation can only succeed if we think of hydrogen as a complete system — from production and transport to application," said Julie Buerkle-Weiss, technical director at BadenovaNETZE.

A preliminary feasibility study in collaboration with Swiss energy supplier Industrielle Werke Basel (IWB) is already ongoing to explore potential Rhine river crossings and network connections into Switzerland.

Badenova is actively participating in a joint hydrogen initiative in the Upper Rhine, working alongside specialty chemicals company Evonik, energy group RWE, and engineering giant Bosch.

The company is also involved in a second project, RHYn Interco, which has been integrated into the core hydrogen network plan. 

This initiative, developed with French network operator GRTgaz and German transmission system operator terranets bw, focuses on converting existing gas infrastructure in specific areas of Freiburg and Kehl for hydrogen utilisation.