Dutch gas network operator Gasunie has partnered with German energy infrastructure firms Open Grid Europe and Thyssengas to build a cross-border hydrogen pipeline connecting the two nations, companies announced this week.

The agreement, signed during the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam, aims to establish a crucial energy link between Zevenaar in the Netherlands and Elten in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Project planners target 2031 for completion.

To minimize environmental impact and lower construction costs, the companies intend to repurpose existing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transport wherever possible.

Once online, the infrastructure will connect Germany’s industrial and chemical sectors to Dutch hydrogen production plants, storage facilities, and deep-water import hubs.

For Gasunie, the project represents its fourth cross-border infrastructure agreement aimed at integrating the Dutch grid with neighboring Germany and Belgium.

The deal was finalized alongside the symbolic activation of the first operational section of the Dutch national hydrogen network.

That initial 32-kilometer (20-mile) pipeline links the Maasvlakte industrial area to Pernis within the Port of Rotterdam, marking a shift from theoretical planning to physical infrastructure.

"The completion of the first section of the hydrogen network demonstrates that hydrogen is no longer a promise for the future, but tangible infrastructure that is already in place and ready for use," Gasunie Chief Executive Willemien Terpstra said in a statement.

European industrial centers are increasingly looking to hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions, particularly in heavy industries like steel and chemical manufacturing that cannot easily rely on electricity alone.

The Dutch-German pipeline is part of a broader European Union push to develop regional hydrogen corridors to transition away from fossil fuels.