During a three-day delegation trip in Aberdeen, Scotland, representatives from Germany and the United Kingdom discussed the expansion of hydrogen infrastructure in the North Sea. The meeting was organized, among others, by AquaVentus and the Renewable Energy Cluster Hamburg. Participants included delegates from Bosch, Gascade, Aurubis, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES), as well as on the British side representatives from the Scottish Government, Subsea7, Hydrogen Scotland, Deepsea Technologies, and Scottish Enterprise.
The talks focused on cooperation projects along the entire value chain: from offshore production to transport and storage to industrial use. As early as September 2025, AquaVentus and Hydrogen Scotland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Aberdeen to strengthen hydrogen production and transport in the North Sea area.
Offshore pipeline to connect networks
According to AquaVentus, an offshore pipeline between the United Kingdom and Germany is coming closer. It is intended to collect hydrogen from the central North Sea and connect it to existing hydrogen networks in both countries. So far, these networks are planned separately and connect national industrial hubs. The German project AquaDuctus is being advanced by Gascade.
Robert Seehawer, Managing Director of AquaVentus, classifies the trip as a further development of the third North Sea Summit, which took place in Hamburg at the beginning of 2026. "The 3rd North Sea Summit in Hamburg made it clear that the next phase of the energy transition can no longer be thought of nationally," says Seehawer. Offshore wind, hydrogen production, and infrastructure must be sector-coupled planned together with politics and transmission system operators. "The North Sea is not a national silo but a shared energy basin."
Amendment of the Offshore Wind Energy Act needed
From AquaVentus's perspective, looking to Scotland is also a wake-up call for Germany. While discussions in this country revolve around rising costs for offshore grid connections and the investment volume of the grid development plan, the United Kingdom relies on clear political guidelines, reliable tender rounds, and targeted funding instruments for hydrogen.
AquaVentus calls for an amendment of the Offshore Wind Energy Act, which anchors the production of offshore hydrogen as an independent planning category and enables combined connection concepts. "We want to learn in Scotland how political planning security triggers tangible investments," says Seehawer.
