The European Hydrogen Backbone Initiative developed visionary maps for future hydrogen pipeline infrastructure. Our recent maps update from September 2022 included significantly accelerated changes in the pipelines infrastructure of various countries.

Since then we have seen increasingly visionary hydrogen developments in the market. In order to provide an up-to-date overview of the infrastructure vision, we incorporated several updates into our interactive dynamic maps on our website.

Main changes in this iteration:

• In the Czech Republic, an additional pipeline connecting Germany and the Czech Republic has been created. This pipeline aims to connect high potential hydrogen supply areas in Northern Germany and Baltics with expected high demand cluster in South Germany via the Czech Republic. Planned commissioning is subject to valid contractual obligations.

• In Portugal, Spain and France, the infrastructure is moving forward to 2030 with a new added stretch following the new offshore H2 interconnection between the Iberian Peninsula and Central Europe, including storage capacities in South West of France.

• In Belgium, the connection between Zeebrugge and Duinkerke has been accelerated from 2040 to 2030.

• In Germany, the maps were brought in line both with the recent PCI submissions by German TSOs and the hydrogen projects included in the updated version of the German National Network Development plan 2022-2032.

• In Denmark, the connection between Bornholm and Lubmin is set to be a separate pipeline in 2030, and the connection going through Jutland has been moved to the west.

• In Italy, a new segment is included near Rome, and new segment to Switzerland will be built by 2030.

European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) consortium is happy to welcome two new chairwomen Sara Kärki and Maria Sicilia after a successful three years-long chairmanship presided by Daniel Muthmann.

The past year was highly impactful for the EHB and as 2022 comes to an end and the new year begins, so begins a new chapter in the European Hydrogen Backbone consortium. The EHB is thrilled to announce that Ms. Sara Kärki from Gasgrid Finland Oy and Ms. Maria Sicilia from Enagás will take the lead of the EHB consortium in a dual chairmanship as current chairman Daniel Muthmann has announced to step down.

The success of EHB in this past year can be summarized to many important achievements: the consortium developed leading-edge publications for hydrogen infrastructure as response to REPowerEU and engaged relevant players across the hydrogen value chain and the European Commission on the EHB Day.

The consortium is beyond grateful for the current chairman Daniel Muthmann’s steady stewardship and his persistent efforts which helped drive the success of the European Hydrogen Backbone initiative. Daniel Muthmann has been supporting and initiating the initiative in 2019, standing as a founding pillar in its three years of growth. Under his chairmanship the initiative has grown to a membership of 31 gas Transmission System Operators across Europe.

“Building entire value chains for hydrogen requires efficient cooperation of many stakeholders and confidence in the technical feasibility and commercialization. My starting point for starting this initiative was precisely that: adding important pieces to the jigsaw puzzle so that the future potential becomes visible and confidence is rising, especially with regard to the capabilities of the existing gas infrastructure to enable an upscaling of hydrogen in Europe” “I’m also very happy to welcome the new chairwomen to carry forward EHB work in the new year’s programme”

According to María Sicilia, Strategy and Planning Director at Enagás, the Spanish gas transmission system operator, “the European TSOs are called upon to play a very relevant role in achieving the decarbonisation objectives and are a clear example of cooperation and multilateralism between European countries. The next few years it will be key to making progress in the development of the European Hydrogen Backbone as a key element in advancing energy independence in Europe”.

“Hydrogen is a key technology for diversifying energy supply, improving energy security and resilience of the European energy system. European Hydrogen Backbone group has shown the possibility to react to the major changes in the energy sector with forward looking collaboration. It will be a privilege to continue the excellent EHB work together with the group and other stakeholders.” says Sara Kärki, Head of Strategic Analysis & RDI at Gasgrid Finland Oy, the Finnish gas transmission system operator.

On behalf of the consortium, we wish you happy holidays and a happy new year.

Further information:

info@gasgrid.fi

dircom@enagas.es / (+34) 91 709 93 40

For questions and inquiries about the EHB initiative, contact us at: ehb@guidehouse.com

Gasgrid Finland Oy is a Finnish state-owned company and transmission system operator with system responsibility. We offer our customers safe, reliable, and cost-efficient transmission of gases. We actively develop our transmission platform, services, and the gas market in a customer-oriented manner to promote the carbon-neutral energy and raw material system of the future. Find out more: www.gasgrid.fi

Enagás is a TSO (Transmission System Operator) with 50 years of experience in the development, operation and maintenance of energy infrastructures. It has more than 12,000 kilometres of gas pipelines, three strategic storage facilities, eight regasification plants and operates in seven countries: Spain, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Albania, Greece and Italy. In Spain, it is the main natural gas transporter and the Technical Manager of the Gas System.

In accordance with its commitment to the energy transition, Enagás has announced that it is bringing forward its goal of becoming carbon neutral to 2040. The company is committed to the development of renewable gases (such as biomethane or green hydrogen), sustainable mobility and energy efficiency, among other areas. The company is a world leader in its sector in the main sustainability indices, as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World, is included in the CDP Climate Change A List 2021, and has obtained the highest ESG rating in its sector in the FTSE4Good sustainability index. Find out more: www.enagas.es

The European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) initiative has contributed to the development of a European hydrogen market through the publications of its flagship EHB maps, with a vision of a pan-European hydrogen transport infrastructure. These network maps demonstrate how this vision is both technically feasible and economically affordable, and sparked a debate on the role that a hydrogen network can play in the future European energy system. The initiative is managed by Guidehouse, a leading global provider of consulting services to the public sector and commercial markets, with broad capabilities in management, technology, and risk consulting. Find out more: www.ehb.eu

The European Hydrogen Backbone Initiative developed visionary maps for future hydrogen pipeline infrastructure. Our recent publication from May 2022 included reactions to the REPowerEU publications (Five hydrogen supply corridors).

Since then we have seen an increasing dynamic and acceleration of hydrogen developments in the market.
In order to provide an up-to-date overview of the infrastructure vision, we incorporated several updates into our interactive dynamic maps on our website.

Main changes in this iteration:

• In Spain, by 2030, a more interconnected hydrogen transmission network is expected to develop across the north of the country, alongside the inclusion of the existing LNG terminal in Gijón;
• In Belgium, the 2040 vision was updated to reflect a more paced roll out of pipeline infrastructure;
• In Slovakia, the development of the East-West hydrogen corridor from Ukraine to Czechia has been accelerated from 2040 to 2030; and
• In Hungary, the hydrogen interconnection with Slovakia has also been accelerated from 2040 to 2030, while the interconnection with Austria has been pushed back to 2040.

CEOs of 31 European gas infrastructure companies present a pledge to establish hydrogen supply corridors by 2030 to the European Commission at the European Hydrogen Backbone Day event.

• The first European Hydrogen Backbone Day was held in Brussels on June 7^th, 2022. Stakeholders from all over the hydrogen value chain, together with National and European policymakers discussed the future of European hydrogen infrastructure.
• The CEOs of all 31 initiative members presented a pledge to the European Commission to establish hydrogen supply corridors by 2030 as enablers for hydrogen market creation.
• The pledge was presented to Ms. Rosalinde van der Vlies, Director-General Research and Innovation of the European Commission.
• The pledge can be downloaded here.

EHB Day

In a first of its kind, the EHB initiative hosted an interactive, day-long workshop and conference, exploring the future of European hydrogen infrastructure. The EHB initiative presented their two most recent publications; the updated EHB-vision infrastructure maps as well as their findings on the five envisaged corridors that could be emerging in Europe, which would connect hydrogen supply with demand as well as decarbonise local industry.

External speakers such as Daniel Mercer, Outi Ervasti, Thierry Lepercq and Pawel Stanczak also participated in panel discussions on the role of supply, demand and infrastructure in fast-tracking the development of corridors by 2030.

The day included multiple workshops that helped define and come up with potential solutions to localised hydrogen transportation bottlenecks.

Pledge to establish hydrogen supply corridors by 2030 as enable for hydrogen market creation.

The 31 CEOs of the initiatives’ members presented a pledge to the European Commission to establish hydrogen supply corridors by 2030 as enabler for hydrogen market creation.

In the pledge, delivered to Ms. Rosalinde van der Vlies, Director-General Research and Innovation of the European Commission, the EHB initiative and its members pledge that they are ready to deliver the hydrogen infrastructure needed to achieve Europe’s 2030 hydrogen targets. In order to support this, a clear mandate and the suitable policy and regulatory support is asked from the European Commission.

Identification of five hydrogen supply corridors

The EHB initiative has identified five hydrogen supply corridors that can bridge regional differences in supply and demand and deliver access to abundant and low-cost hydrogen supply in 2030. These corridors connect local hydrogen supply and demand in different parts of Europe, create connections across European regions as well as with neighbouring regions with export potential, in order to meet Europe’s hydrogen import needs. These import connections envisioned by the EHB are consistent with the three major import/hydrogen corridors identified by the Commission in the REPowerEU package.

The following concrete actions are needed to ensure the development of each corridor by 2030:

• Fostering development of new and repurposed hydrogen infrastructure, e.g., by unbundling rules facilitating efficient use of expertise & services from TSOs and by allowing different vertical unbundling models across EU in analogy to natural gas
• Unlock financing to fast-track hydrogen infrastructure deployment by leveraging regional regulatory flexibility and other pragmatic financing solutions (including incentivizing use of hydrogen on demand side)
• Simplify and shorten planning and permitting procedures for renewable energy, hydrogen, and infrastructure projects.
• Intensify energy partnerships with exporting, non-EHB countries providing financing support to reduce the cost of capital in export countries and identifying a common certification system for hydrogen exchanges.
• Facilitate integrated energy system planning of hydrogen, natural gas, and electricity infrastructure

But above all, speed is of the essence, and we need to start now.

An open initiative

The EHB aims to accelerate Europe’s decarbonisation journey by defining the critical role of hydrogen infrastructure – based on existing and new pipelines – in enabling the development of a competitive, liquid, pan-European renewable and low-carbon hydrogen market. The initiative seeks to foster market competition, security of supply, and cross-border collaboration between European countries and their neighbours.

The EHB initiative is looking forward to continuing to discuss its vision with stakeholders including policy makers, companies, and initiatives along the hydrogen value chain. An up-to-date and interactive version of the latest vision maps can also be found in digital format by visiting the EHB initiative’s website at www.ehb.eu.

Our EHB hydrogen infrastructure vision will over time evolve towards realisation. In order to keep track of developments in this fast-changing environment, the EHB initiative is introducing regular maps updates on our website that include the latest projects and latest targets of EC.

Following the issuance of the 2022 EHB Infrastructure Maps paper, several updates are now implemented to the interactive dynamic maps on our website.

Main changes in this iteration:

• Added subsea pipeline between Spain and Italy for 2030 and 2040
• Added 2 pipelines in Finland, connecting supply from onshore wind in 2040
• Added connection to Krk Gas Terminal in Croatia in 2040
• Showed the Cork Hydrogen Project in Ireland that indicates hydrogen infrastructure development already by 2030
• Updated gas terminal numbers and added LNG terminal in Lithuania
• Deleted individual pipeline stretch in the Netherlands
• Minor adjustments on how the maps are visualized

The above-mentioned changes are incorporated in our recent publication on hydrogen supply corridors. In case you have not seen it yet, you can download it here! 

• To deliver the accelerated 2030 hydrogen demand & supply targets set by the REPowerEU plan, five large-scale pipeline corridors are envisaged.
• These corridors will play a key role as cost-efficient solution to transport large volumes of low-cost hydrogen supply to demand centres.
• The five corridors span across both domestic and import supply markets, consistent with the three import corridors identified by the recent REPowerEU plan.
• To ensure the development of these supply corridors by 2030, speed is of essence and EHB identified 5 key actions needed now.
• The members of the EHB initiative recommend to the EC to consider the establishment of hydrogen supply corridors by 2030 as front-running infrastructure as a political objective, in order to ensure the fulfilment of REPowerEU targets.

To deliver the accelerated 2030 hydrogen demand & supply targets set by the REPowerEU plan, five large-scale pipeline corridors are envisaged. The corridors will initially connect domestic local supply and demand in Europe, before expanding & connecting European regions and neighbouring countries with low-cost hydrogen export potential.

These corridors will play a key role as cost-efficient solution to transport large volumes of low-cost hydrogen supply to demand centers. Pipeline transport offers a cost-efficient solution to connect areas of large amounts of hydrogen excess supply with regions with hydrogen demand, especially when including repurposing of existing gas infrastructure.

The five corridors span across both domestic and import supply markets, consistent with the three import corridors identified by the REPowerEU plan. The deployment of such a European Hydrogen Backbone infrastructure by 2030 will enable market actors to develop supply and demand more rapidly in a cost-efficient manner

The corridor analysis has identified sufficient hydrogen supply to exceed the European 2030 domestic supply targets, contributing to European energy independence and security of supply. EHB has identified 12 Mt (~400 TWh) of potential EU hydrogen supply, exceeding the domestic, REPowerEU target of 10 Mt of green hydrogen by 2030. In addition, hydrogen import potentials have been identified. EHB also identified a large share of EU hydrogen demand to meet the 2030 target, with an expectation for 2030 demand to accelerate further following the REPowerEU publication. Both hydrogen supply and demand will substantially increase towards 2040.

The five hydrogen supply corridors are:

• Corridor A: North Africa & Southern Europe
• Corridor B: Southwest Europe & North Africa
• Corridor C: North Sea
• Corridor D: Nordic and Baltic regions
• Corridor E: East and South-East Europe

Note that these five corridors are consistent with the REPowerEU plan and its three import corridors, including an import corridor via the Mediterranean (Corridors A and B), via the North Sea (Corridor C) and via Ukraine (Corridor E).

To ensure the development of these supply corridors by 2030, speed is of essence and action is needed now. Five key concrete actions:

o Foster development of new and repurposed hydrogen infrastructure
o Unlock financing to fast-track hydrogen infrastructure deployment
o Simplify and shorten planning and permitting procedures
o Intensify energy partnerships with exporting, non-EHB countries
o Facilitate integrated energy system planning

The members of the EHB initiative recommend to the EC to consider the establishment of hydrogen supply corridors by 2030 as front-running infrastructure as a political objective, in order to ensure the fulfilment of REPowerEU targets.

The Executive Summary can be accessed here and the full report, including individual corridor presentations can be accessed here

An open initiative

The EHB aims to accelerate Europe’s decarbonisation journey by defining the critical role of hydrogen infrastructure – based on existing and new pipelines – in enabling the development of a competitive, liquid, pan-European renewable and low-carbon hydrogen market. The initiative seeks to foster market competition, security of supply, and cross-border collaboration between European countries and their neighbours. The EHB initiative is looking forward to continuing to discuss its vision with stakeholders including policy makers, companies, and initiatives along the hydrogen value chain.

On June 7^th2022, the inaugural European Hydrogen Backbone Day (EHB Day) will be held in Brussels.

Attendance to EHB Day is by invitation only. However, interested gas industry organisations, executives and business developers from the hydrogen supply chain can send an email to ehb@guidehouse.com to attend.

About the event: In line with EHB’s mission, this private event aims to define the critical role of hydrogen infrastructure underlying our vision of a fully integrated pan-European hydrogen economy and carbon-neutral future. Throughout the day, 300 participants from 28 European countries and 31 TSOs will congregate to share ideas, build new working relationships, and create opportunities for the future hydrogen economy.

The event has confirmed participation of CEO’s from GRTgaz, Fluxys, Enagás, ONTRAS, Teréga, Nordion Energi, DESFA, Amber Grid and TAG.

Agenda and more info here »

The REPowerEU plans include ambitious targets for both domestic production (10 Mton) and imports (10 Mton) of renewable hydrogen until 2030. In the plans by the Commission, large-scale hydrogen corridors are mentioned with the potential to connect supply sources and demand (see below). Amongst those, the Commission will support the development of three major hydrogen import corridors via the Mediterranean, the North Sea area and, as soon as conditions allow, with Ukraine.

We as the EHB initiative are currently finalizing our analysis of hydrogen supply corridors for 2030 that are consistent with the REPowerEU suggestions. In this analysis, we cover the infrastructure vision, potential hydrogen demand and supply, cost, and relevant regulatory aspects towards 2030 and onwards. In addition, the EHB initiative has already engaged with stakeholders in future renewable hydrogen import countries, which is aligned with the H2 partnerships as mentioned in REPowerEU. Our members are ready to contribute to building these partnerships further and bring their expertise to connect supply through pipelines from outside of the European Union.

The initiative also welcomes the remainder of the ambitious plans (e.g., creation and expansion of funding measures for infrastructure) but is explicitly pleased with the recognition of the hydrogen corridors and partnerships. The REPowerEU plan underlines the role that our member’s infrastructure will play in the coming decades for the decarbonization and energy independence of Europe.

We are currently finalizing our work on hydrogen supply corridors –Stay tuned for publication end of May!

Today we announced the launch of a dedicated website of the European Hydrogen Backbone initiative. The website provides a resource of all previous publications of the initiative, as well as an up-to-date and interactive version of the latest vision maps that were published earlier this month (link).

In tandem, the EHB will present a new appendix to the April 5th report, covering narratives that describe the state of play around hydrogen in each of the 28 member countries.

On the website you will be able to:

• See the (interactive) EHB vision
• Read up on the different country narratives
• Contact the initiative for further inquiries
• Find all our latest news items and reports

An open initiative

The EHB aims to accelerate Europe’s decarbonisation journey by defining the critical role of hydrogen infrastructure – based on existing and new pipelines – in enabling the development of a competitive, liquid, pan-European renewable and low-carbon hydrogen market. By 2040 this could include a majority 60% repurposed pipelines and 40% new. The initiative seeks to foster market competition, security of supply, and cross-border collaboration between European countries and their neighbours.

The EHB initiative is looking forward to continuing to discuss its vision with stakeholders including policy makers, companies, and initiatives along the hydrogen value chain.

“The EHB vision is to build an integrated pan-European hydrogen infrastructure to supply hydrogen to end-users at a low cost. The large demand volumes identified in previous EHB work, and the acceleration anticipated as part of RePowerEU, will need as much European domestic supply and imports from neighbouring regions as possible. In our assessment of supply potential from countries neighbouring the EHB, we identified among others also Ukraine as essential. I am happy to announce that today EHB entered into an MoU with the TSO of UA. It is the basis of future collaborations to establish the right environment to connect Ukrainian assets to the EU hydrogen infrastructure. We are very close to the Ukrainian TSO and all those affected by the war” – says Daniel Muthmann, Chairman of European Hydrogen Backbone.

“Ukraine could be a great partner of the EU when it comes to implementing the “Hydrogen Strategy. Our system of gas pipelines should be of service for the hydrogen transportation to EU. We are happy to announce that TSO of Ukraine entered into an MoU with the European Hydrogen Backbone. We expect that collaboration with other European gas TSO’s will support a more rapid implementation of this vision” – says Pawel Stanczak, Deputy General Director for Development and Transformation, Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine / Оператор ГТС України.

About LLC Gas TSO of Ukraine

Gas TSO of Ukraine is a natural monopoly that provides sufficient and diversified capacity for gas transmission to Ukrainian and European consumers to ensure energy security and uninterrupted supply in any circumstances.

Gas TSO of Ukraine in numbers:
Cross-border interconnection points with the TSOs of 6 adjacent countries; Almost 11.000 high skilled and educated employees; More than 33 thousand km of pipeline length, 57 compressor stations, 33 gas metering stations and 1,389 gas distribution stations; Among TOP-50 best employers in Ukraine according to Forbes Ukraine and Work.ua

Company contact: Kadenskyi Mykola, kadenskyi-my@tsoua.com

• Accelerated EHB network vision by 2030 in response to European Commission’s REPowerEU communication and call to greater action on climate protection and European energy system resilience.
• European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) network grows by more than 110% since initial launch one and a half years ago – expanded members present vision for approximately 53,000 km hydrogen pipeline infrastructure in 28 European countries by 2040.
• The Backbone is expected to be made up of ~60%-40% repurposed natural gas versus new pipelines in 2040.
• Digital, interactive vision maps will be published as part of new EHB website later in April.

Today, the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) initiative presents a promising solution to accelerate hydrogen adoption for greater energy security and meet renewable targets

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the onus is on European countries to achieve greater energy independence. This has led to a greater push to accelerate and scale up the adoption of decarbonised energy sources as highlighted in the REPowerEU statement, a plan to phase out Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels from Russia well before 2030 and to increase the resilience of the EU-wide energy system. Amongst other measures, REPowerEU introduces an update of its vision for a dedicated hydrogen transport ambition to reach an additional 15 million tonnes (Mt) of renewable hydrogen on top of the 5.6 Mt foreseen under Fit for 55, going beyond the targets of the EU’s hydrogen strategy.^[1] Achieving these targets will require a rapid acceleration of the development of an integrated gas and hydrogen infrastructure across Europe. In light of these events, the EHB has accelerated its programme from 2035 to 2030 with the aim to meet the REPowerEU targets. The group proposes a hydrogen network of ~53,000 km by 2040, with further growth expected after 2040. The network, reflecting the vision of [31] European energy, hydrogen storage facilities, and port infrastructure operators,^[2] covers 28 European countries and creates a diverse set of hydrogen import opportunities. The vision launched today follows the EHB reports published in July 2020 and April 2021, which sparked an uptick in interest across Europe. Since the initial launch one and a half years ago, the EHB’s 2040 vision network has expanded to 18 new countries and has grown by 110%.

Accelerated vision to meet climate ambitions and increase European energy system resilience

In view of tighter national and European climate ambitions and following quotes from the EC’s REPowerEU communication to accelerate hydrogen, that can replace 25-50 bcm per year of imported Russian gas by 2030 and political developments have pushed EHB to accelerate its work programme, bringing the 2035 scenarios to 2030. The updated hydrogen infrastructure network maps presented today build on the EHB initiative’s prior body of work. The accelerated EHB vision shows that by 2030, five pan-European hydrogen supply and import corridors with almost 28,000 km of initial pipelines could emerge, connecting industrial clusters, ports, and hydrogen valleys to regions of abundant demand – and laying the foundation for future large-scale hydrogen supply. The EHB’s vision is an adequate vehicle through which the EC’s 2030 ambition to promote development of a 20.6 Mt renewable and low-carbon European hydrogen market could be realised.

Cost-effective onshore and offshore pipeline transport of hydrogen

The ~53,000 km envisaged backbone by 2040 requires an estimated total investment of €80-143 billion based on using ~60% of repurposed natural gas pipelines and ~40% new pipeline stretches, including subsea pipelines. This investment cost estimate, which is relatively limited in the context of overall investments needed in the European energy transition, includes subsea pipelines and interconnectors linking continental demand centres to offshore energy production hubs. Transporting hydrogen over 1,000 km along the proposed onshore backbone would on average cost €0.11-0.21 per kg of hydrogen, making the EHB the most cost-effective option for large-scale, long-distance hydrogen transport. In case hydrogen is transported exclusively via subsea pipelines, the cost would be €0.17-0.32 per kg of hydrogen per 1,000 km transported.

Stable regulatory framework required

The hydrogen infrastructure maps for 2030 and 2040 published today reflect the vision of 31 European gas TSOs, based on their analysis of how infrastructure could evolve to meet decarbonisation targets. It is important to stress that the hydrogen transport routes and timelines in the maps are not set in stone. The final backbone design and timeline depend on market conditions for hydrogen and natural gas and the creation of a stable regulatory framework.

“With EHB, the participating infrastructure companies took a European perspective for upscaling hydrogen from the start. Going beyond just regional clusters and anticipating a Europe–wide hydrogen transportation infrastructure based on the existing gas infrastructure early on creates confidence for future market participants, access to various competitive supply sources and security of demand for project developers. The current geopolitical situation underlines how valuable Europe’s gas infrastructure is. It is a real asset in the transformation” says Daniel Muthmann, Chairman of the EHB initiative.

An open initiative

The EHB aims to accelerate Europe’s decarbonisation journey by defining the critical role of hydrogen infrastructure – based on existing and new pipelines – in enabling the development of a competitive, liquid, pan-European renewable and low-carbon hydrogen market. By 2040 this could include a majority 60% repurposed pipelines and 40% new. The initiative seeks to foster market competition, security of supply, and cross-border collaboration between European countries and their neighbours.

The EHB initiative is looking forward to continuing to discuss its vision with stakeholders including policy makers, companies, and initiatives along the hydrogen value chain. An up-to-date and interactive version of the latest vision maps will be published alongside the EHB’s flagship website later in April.

[1] European Commission (2022) – REPowerEU : Joint European Action for more affordable, secure, and sustainable energy (COM(2022) 109 final). Source: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/repowereu-joint-european-action-more-affordable-secure-and-sustainable-energy_en

[2] Note: since the announcement of the EHB initiative’s work programme in January 2022, 2 additional TSOs, Transgaz Romania and FluxSwiss (Switzerland) have joined the initiative.

• New study by the European Hydrogen Backbone initiative estimates 2,300 TWh of hydrogen demand in EU+UK by 2050 corresponding to 20-25% of future EU and UK energy demand
• Sufficient potential exists to produce this quantity as green and blue hydrogen within the EU and UK, hydrogen imports from neighbouring regions are likely
• Pipeline transport more cost-effective than seaborne transport and powerlines

Large future hydrogen demand to make Europe a climate-neutral continent
The EU and UK could see a hydrogen demand of around 2,300 TWh (of which 2,000 TWh in the EU) by 2050. This equals about 45% of EU+UK natural gas consumption in 2019. Hydrogen is crucial to decarbonise industry, in particular chemicals (ammonia and high-value chemicals), iron and steel, and fuel production. Hydrogen is also expected to play an important role in providing dispatchable electricity, as a heavy transport fuel and in some countries in the heating of buildings.

Europe can be self-sufficient in green and blue hydrogen, imports are likely
The total expected hydrogen demand could potentially be met by green hydrogen produced in the EU and UK, using renewable electricity. Yet producing such quantities of green hydrogen domestically is subject to public acceptance of an accelerated expansion of renewable installed capacity, financing, regulation and quality standard setting. It is anticipated that the economics of green hydrogen production costs will improve, allowing a rapid scale-up. In addition to green hydrogen, large quantities of relatively cheap blue hydrogen can be produced in Europe to quickly drive emission reductions and accelerate the pace of the transition. The study also shows that hydrogen imports by pipeline can provide an attractive complement to domestic supply.

Hydrogen Backbone is cost-effective and essential to create a European cross-border hydrogen market
Repurposed existing gas infrastructure plays a crucial role in connecting hydrogen supply and demand locations. Hydrogen pipelines are the most cost-efficient option for long-distance, high-volume transport at €0.11-0.21/kg per 1,000 km, outcompeting transport by ship for all reasonable distances within Europe and neighbouring regions. Also, the study shows that for high-volume transport of energy when the desired end-product is hydrogen, even without including flexibility costs such as energy storage, pipelines are more cost-effective than powerlines delivering the same amount of energy.

Our new study shows that hydrogen will be crucial in multiple energy demand sectors. And the Backbone will be an enabler to connect supply with demand within Europe as well as allowing for cost-competitive imports”

says Daniel Muthmann, Coordinator of the EHB initiative and Head of corporate development, strategy, policy and communication at OGE.