(Milan / Italy) – The energy ministries of Italy, Austria and Germany have signed a joint letter expressing their political support for the development of the “southern hydrogen corridor” in the European Union. In doing so, they are advocating for the granting of “Projects of Common Interest” (PCI) status, which can result in accelerated approval procedures and financing.
The planned European hydrogen network will be developed in five sections, consisting of the North Sea Corridor, the Baltic Corridor, the Southwest Corridor, the Southeast Corridor and the North Africa Corridor. © Screenshot from the EHB study “European Hydrogen Backbone – European Hydrogen Infrastructure Vision Covering 28 Countries”; Clicking on the graphic leads to the study from April 2022.
Four European gas pipeline and infrastructure operators joined forces a year ago to develop a hydrogen-compatible pipeline network that connects North Africa with Central Europe. The Italian Società Nazionale Metanodotti SpA (Snam), the two Austrian companies Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH (TAG) and Gas Connect Austria GmbH (GCA) and the German Bayernets GmbH are involved in the project called “SoutH2 Corridor”. “The corridor connects North Africa, Italy, Austria and Germany and enables the delivery of cost-effective renewable hydrogen produced in the South to key European demand centers,” explained Snam.
3.300 kilometers for hydrogen
The 3.300 kilometer long network has a capacity of more than four million tonnes per year and can therefore meet 40 percent of the EU's import targets. The lines are part of the planned European hydrogen network “European Hydrogen Backbone” (EHB), an initiative that has now grown to 32 participants.
The focus of “SoutH2 Corridor” is the use of existing “midstream” systems, i.e. the conversion of previous natural gas infrastructure for hydrogen. A high proportion of reused pipelines of over 70 percent enables cost-effective transport of the energy source produced in North Africa using wind and solar energy under “competitive production conditions”. The overall project consists of several national sub-projects:
- “Italian H2 backbone”: Snam Rete Gas is planning around 2.300 kilometers of pipelines from the entry point in Sicily, 73 percent of which will be reused, as well as several hundred megawatts of compressor stations. The import capacity from North Africa is around 450 gigawatt hours per day (GWh/day) and enables exports of 170 GWh/day to Austria and further north. Snam has been active in North Africa since January 2023. According to its own information, the company has already signed letters of intent with North African hydrogen producers for the production of around 2,5 million tons per year.
- “H2 Readiness”: The “H2 Readiness of the TAG pipeline system” project connects the pipeline on the Italian-Austrian border in Arnoldstein with that on the Austrian-Slovakian border in Baumgarten. One of three existing natural gas pipelines will be repurposed for hydrogen, which is connected to both GCA's H2-WAG pipeline within Austria and the Eustream H2 pipeline. The system is optimized for an import capacity of 168 GWh/day from North Africa, primarily using the existing infrastructure. Thanks to the bidirectional design of the 380 kilometer long TAG pipeline, the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic could also be connected, as well as all Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) in order to develop a common hydrogen market.
- “H2 Backbone WAG + Penta-West”: The GCA project enable bidirectional cross-border hydrogen transport between Slovakia and Austria as well as between Austria and Germany and allow the takeover of hydrogen that arrives at the Baumgarten node via the TAG systems. Transport capacity: 150 GWh/day. The project is supported by both the Ministry of the Environment and “numerous leading industrial companies in Austria” along the entire hydrogen value chain.
- “HyPipe Bavaria – The Hydrogen Hub”: The Bavarian hydrogen network Bayernets According to the company, it is “an essential prerequisite for the development of import routes from southern and eastern Europe” for the German market. For this purpose, an import point with a capacity of 144 GWh/day (6 GWh/h) is provided between Austria and Germany. From 2025, the first pipeline section with a length of 14 kilometers in the Bavarian chemical triangle will go into operation, followed by further regional project components near Ingolstadt. In 2030 the network will cover 300 kilometers.
The SoutH2 corridor is expected to be fully functional in 2030 in order to then serve industrial locations with high demand for green hydrogen in Italy (e.g. in Augusta, Taranto and Northern Italy), in Austria (Styria, Vienna and Linz) and in Germany (Burghausen and Ingolstadt). .
You can find continuously updated information about the initiative at SouthH2 Corridor
Class schedule
Four companies are planning the pipeline that will one day bring green hydrogen from Africa to Europe. © Snam
