WAD Pipeline construction project
Natural gas pipeline from Wardenburg to Drohne is H2-ready
The Wardenburg-Drohne (WAD) pipeline section is the second part of the natural gas pipeline from Etzel via Wardenburg to Drohne. The 90 km section connects to the Etzel-Wardenburg section at the compressor station in Wardenburg, running from there to Drohne in Westphalia.
Like the Etzel-Wardenburg section, the pipeline leg from Wardenburg to Drohne will support the NETRA (Norddeutsche Erdgas-Transversale) gas transmission pipeline, which has been in operation since 1995, transferring natural gas from the Netherlands, Norway and Wilhelmshaven into the German gas transmission pipeline system. The Wardenburg-Drohne (WAD) section has also been designed to transport hydrogen. In addition, it is helping to deliver a pilot project, being the first pipeline to use carbon-reduced pipes on one stretch of the 90 km pipeline.
Facts and figures
90 KM
Pipeline length
buried
Type of installation
100 bar
Design pressure
DN 1000
Pipe diameter
Q3 2025
Construction
Q4 2026
Completion
Planning status
The Wardenburg-Drohne (WAD) transmission line runs through two federal states, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. As a result, we had to submit an application for planning approval to two regulatory authorities: the State Office for Mining, Energy, and Geology (LBEG) for Lower Saxony, and the Detmold District Government for North Rhine-Westphalia.
In September 2025, we received the planning approval decision from the LBEG for the construction section in Lower Saxony. The planning approval decision from the Detmold District Government for the section in North Rhine-Westphalia will follow at the end of October 2025. Thus, the Wardenburg-Drohne line has been in the construction phase since fall 2025. The approximately 90 km are divided into three construction lots. The Wardenburg-Drohne line is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2026.