European
Hydrogen Backbone
A EUROPEAN HYDROGEN INFRASTRUCTURE
VISION COVERING 28 COUNTRIESAPRIL 2022
By Amber Grid, Bulgartransgaz, Conexus, CREOS, DESFA, Elering, Enagás,
Energinet, Eustream, FGSZ, FluxSwiss, Fluxys Belgium, Gas Connect Austria,
Gasgrid Finland, Gassco, Gasunie, Gas Networks Ireland, GAZ-SYSTEM,
GRTgaz, National Grid, NET4GAS, Nordion Energi, OGE, ONTRAS, Plinacro,
Plinovodi, REN, Snam, TAG, Teréga, and Transgaz

Tableof contents
Executive summary3

1. Introduction

6

2. Gradual creation of a dedicated hydrogen infrastructure toincrease the resilience of the European energy system

8

2.1. Acceleration of hydrogen infrastructure to enable the emergenceof pan-European supply and import corridors by 2030

82.2. Mature infrastructure stretching towards all directions by 2040

11

3. Accelerating implementation of the EHB

14Appendix A. Cost of an expanded European Hydrogen Backbone

15

Investment and operating costs

15

Levelised transport cost

16

Unit cost assumptions

16

Appendix B. Country-specific developments

19

Imprint
Supported by:
Guidehouse

Date:
April 2022

Authors:
Rik van Rossum, Jaro Jens, Gemma La Guardia,
Anthony Wang, Luis Kühnen, Martijn Overgaag

Contact:
Guidehouse
Stadsplateau 15, 3521 AZ Utrecht
The Netherlands+31 30 662 3300
guidehouse.com

2 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Picture credits:
Title motif based on a map of ENTSOG(see https://transparency.entsog.eu/)
Design:res d, Meike Naumann

Executive
summary1

European Commission (2021) – Proposal
for a recast Directive / Regulation on gas
markets and hydrogen (COM(2021) 803
final) / (COM(2021) 804 final). Source: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/markets-andconsumers/market-legislation/hydrogen-anddecarbonised-gas-market-package_en
2 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-moreaffordable-secure-and-sustainable-energy_en
3 According to REPowerEU, the additional 15
Mt (compared to 5.6 Mt foreseen in Fit for 55)
would be made of 10 Mt of imported hydrogenfrom diverse sources and an additional 5 Mt ofhydrogen produced in Europe.
4 The share of repurposed natural gas pipelines
in 2040 would be over 60%.
5 https://www.ehb.eu/maps

3 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Since its founding in 2020, 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 hydrogentransport infrastructure. These network maps demonstrate how this vision is bothtechnically feasible and economically affordable. The role of hydrogen in enabling
climate neutrality is widely acknowledged, as is the need for hydrogen pipelinetransport in the future European energy system. Recently, the essential role forhydrogen pipeline infrastructure in fostering market competition, security of supply,and security of demand was recognised in the European Commission’s hydrogenand decarbonised gas package, published in December 2021.¹
Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the impetus for a rapid clean
energy transition has never been stronger. This position was firmly established in
the European Commission’s REPowerEU proposal, a plan to phase out Europe’s
dependence on fossil fuels from Russia well before 2030 and to increase theresilience of the EU-wide energy system. Amongst other measures, REPowerEU
introduces an ambition to reach an additional 15 million tonnes (Mt) of renewablehydrogen on top of the 5.6 Mt foreseen under Fit for 55, going beyond thetargets of the EU’s hydrogen strategy.² Achieving these targets will require a rapid
acceleration of the development of an integrated gas and hydrogen infrastructure,hydrogen storage facilities, and port infrastructure.
In light of the EC’s REPowerEU proposal and in response to acceleratedhydrogen market developments, this report presents an updated, extended, andaccelerated EHB vision, now involving 31 energy infrastructure companies from28 countries. The updated hydrogen infrastructure network maps as presented inthis report build on the EHB initiative’s prior body of work. The accelerated visionshows that by 2030, five pan-European hydrogen supply and import corridors could
emerge, connecting industrial clusters, ports, and hydrogen valleys to regions ofabundant hydrogen supply – and supporting the EC’s ambition to promote thedevelopment of a 20.6 Mt renewable and low-carbon hydrogen market in Europe.³
The hydrogen infrastructure can then grow to become a pan-European network,with a length of almost 53,000 km by 2040, largely based on repurposed existing
natural gas infrastructure.⁴ Moreover, the maps show possible additional routes that
could emerge, including potential offshore interconnectors and pipelines in regions
outside the area where the EHB members are active. A ‘live’ version of the maps
presented in this report can also be found in digital format on the EHB initiative’s
website, which will be launched shortly after this report in April 2022.⁵
The European Hydrogen Backbone for 2040 as proposed in this report requires
an estimated total investment of €80-143 billion. This investment cost estimate, whichis relatively limited in the overall context of the European energy transition, includes
subsea pipelines and interconnectors linking countries to offshore energy hubs andpotential export regions. 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 hydrogentransport. 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.

European climate protection, energy system resilience, and security of supply
are interlinked more than ever before. The European Hydrogen Backbone createsan opportunity to accelerate decarbonisation of the energy sector by efficiently
integrating substantial volumes of additional renewable and low-carbon energy
and by connecting regions with abundant supply potential with centres of demand.
Moreover, the EHB has the potential to revitalise Europe’s industrial economy whilst
ensuring energy system resilience, increased energy independence, and securityof supply across Europe. Such a vision can be achieved in a cost-effective manner,
but it requires close collaboration between EU Member States and neighbouring
countries and a stable, supportive, and adaptive regulatory framework.
To achieve the EC’s ambitious Fit for 55 and REPowerEU goals, and to foster anaccelerated development of the European Hydrogen Backbone, this paper presents
the following levers to facilitate implementation of infrastructure projects.
The EHB recommends introducing in the REPowerEU plan the establishment ofimport corridors, including all infrastructure requirements, as a political objective.
– Establish a more integrated energy system planning of hydrogen, natural gas,and electricity infrastructure at EU and Member State level.
– Promote efficient measures to facilitate the swift development of a dedicatedhydrogen infrastructure by fostering repurposing of existing natural gas
infrastructure.
– Simplify and shorten planning and permitting procedures for renewable energy
and hydrogen projects.
– Unlock financing to fast-track hydrogen infrastructure deployment by leveraging
funding mechanisms such as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), Important
Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) and Horizon Europe funds.
– Encourage international cooperation and create intra and extra-European energy
and hydrogen partnerships.
The EHB initiative is looking forward to discussing its vision with stakeholders
including policy makers, companies, and initiatives along the hydrogen value chain.
In Figure 1 the accelerated and updated 2030 EHB network, which supports theEC’s REPowerEU ambition, is shown.

4 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Talinn
PipelinesStockholm Storages
Repurposed
Salt cavern
New
Aquifer
SubseaDepleted field
Import / Export
Rock cavern
UK 2030 pipelines
depends on pending selectionof hydrogen clusters

Figure 1 – 2030
Accelerated and updated 2030 EHB network supports
the EC’s REPowerEU ambition to create a domestic and
Göteborg
import market for hydrogen and increase European
energy system resilience

Building on its alreadyplanned ambitious
projects, increased
offshore and importtargets will lead toeven faster project
developments andhigher infrastructure
utilisation.

Hamburg

BerlinRotterdam

Leipzig

Vilnius

GdanskNorth Sea
corridoria

Riga

General remarks
Across all corridors, market conditions are continuously evolving. Map subject toupdates resulting from new announcements, considering natural gas supplies,
LNG flows and regulatory development.

Copenhagen

LondonOther
City, for orientation purposes
Energy hub / Offshore (wind)hydrogen production
Existing or planned
gas-import-terminal

Nordic & Baltic
corridor
Accelerated hydrogen
infrastructurebuild-­out with large
offshore and onshore
wind potential andindustrial hydrogenclusters.

Warsaw

CologneKrakow

PragueFrankfurt

Oslo

Helsinki
TalinnStockholm

Paris

MunichGöteborg
ViennaBratislava

Riga

Budapest

Edinburgh

Copenhagen

Ljubljana

Lyon

Milan

Hamburg

VeniceManchester
DublinBucharest(South) Eastern

BerlinRotterdam

Cork
LondonWarsaw
CologneLeipzig
Krakow

PragueFrankfurt

Marseille

SoﬁaSouthwest corridor

Accelerating the networkbuilding on synergies
of high hydrogenproduction potential
in Spain/Portugal
Barcelonaand
storage potential inFrance, while considering
evolution of natural gas
supplies and LNG flows
due to recent challenges.
ValenciaVilnius

GdanskParis
Rome

MunichViennaEuropean corridor
Connecting highpotential regionsin eastern Europe
depends on dynamic
evolution of natural
gas flows due to recent
challenges.

Bratislava
Budapest

Lyon

Ljubljana
Milan
VeniceBordeaux
BilbaoBucharest

PalermoMarseille

Soﬁa
Rome

Porto

AthensBarcelona

MadridValencia

LisbonPalermo
Almeria
Tarifa5 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

AthensNorth Africa – Italy
corridorTransporting large
quantities of costcompetitive greenhydrogen production
potential in Northern
Africa and Southern Italy.

European Hydrogen Backbone initiative 2022,
supported by Guidehouse

1. Introduction

6

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-moreaffordable-secure-and-sustainable-energy_en
7 European Commission (2021) – Proposal
for a recast Directive / Regulation on gas
markets and hydrogen (COM(2021) 803
final) / (COM(2021) 804 final). Source: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/markets-andconsumers/market-legislation/hydrogen-anddecarbonised-gas-market-package_en
8 Gas Infrastructure Europe (2021) – Picturing
the value of gas storage to the European
hydrogen system. Source: https://www.gie.eu/
gie-presents-new-study-picturing-the-valueof-underground-gas-storage-to-the-europeanhydrogen-system/
9 https://www.ehb.eu/maps

6 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONEThe European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) initiative is a group of European energy
infrastructure operators which initially published a vision paper for a dedicatedhydrogen pipeline infrastructure, to a large extent based on repurposed natural gas
pipelines in July 2020, with maps covering nine EU Member States plus Switzerland,
home to the eleven Transmission System Operators (TSOs) participating at that time.
Since then, the EHB initiative has grown to 31 European network operators with
infrastructure covering 25 EU Member States plus Norway, the United Kingdom, andSwitzerland. This report contains a geographically extended vision for a dedicatedhydrogen infrastructure stretching across these 28 European countries.
Following the release of the initial vision network, market participants across thehydrogen value chain have engaged and signalled interest in the EHB initiative’swork. Market feedback frequently concerned the as yet long time periods required
to realise the envisaged vision network. In view of accelerated national and European
climate ambitions, first-mover market actors have called for the need to acceleratehydrogen infrastructure planning and development to support feasibility, security,
and affordability of their energy transition strategies.
In addition, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 has made a strong
and clear case for a rapid clean energy transition. In the face of these events, theEuropean Commission published REPowerEU,⁶ a plan to phase out Russian fossil fuelimports well before 2030 and to increase the resilience of the European energy
system. The plan aims to diversify gas supplies and speed up the roll-out of renewablegases and hydrogen in Europe, setting a goal to reach an additional 15 million tonnes(Mt) of renewable hydrogen – 5 Mt domestically produced, and 10 Mt imported –on top of the 5.6 Mt foreseen under Fit for 55, going beyond the targets of the EU’shydrogen strategy.
In response to accelerated market developments and a Europe-wide strategicneed to increase energy system security through hydrogen, this EHB report presents
an updated vision of the growing initiative, with hydrogen infrastructure maps for2030 and 2040:– The geographical expansion of the EHB maps is reflective of the EU’s acceleratingclimate ambitions and the heightened interest in a pan-European hydrogen
network, as indicated in the European Commission’s Fit for 55 and hydrogen anddecarbonised gas packages, respectively.⁷– The updated pan-European hydrogen network map for 2030 is aligned to theEC’s ambition to develop a 20.6 Mt renewable and low-carbon hydrogen market
in Europe, as presented in the REPowerEU proposal.
– The vision maps indicate possible future locations of underground hydrogen storage.⁸
These storage locations are indicative and do not yet consider the concurrent needfor methane and hydrogen storage nor the fact that new underground storage sites
could be developed. The amount of storage that would be required in the future
depends on several factors and is not further analysed in this paper.
– The maps and results presented in this report can also be found in digital format
on the EHB initiative’s website, launched jointly with this report.⁹
The suggested pathway for the creation of a dedicated hydrogen backbone
infrastructure is informed by studies commissioned by the Gas for Climate consortiumin 2019 and 2020, and by the EHB initiative in 2021, which showed a large futurerole for hydrogen in a decarbonised European energy system and a gradually
declining role for natural gas, partially replaced by biomethane. The network visionpresented in this report builds on the body of work undertaken by the EHB initiativein previous years, national hydrogen strategies and planning processes as well as anevaluation of announced projects on hydrogen supply and demand across Europe
and neighbouring countries that are potentially able to export hydrogen.

The European Hydrogen Backbone vision starts from the current status quo yet
assumes a high ambition level for future climate change policies. Nonetheless, it isimportant to note that the eventual infrastructure solution will be highly dependent
on future supply and demand dynamics of the integrated energy system, including
natural gas, hydrogen, electricity, and heat. The real development of hydrogen
supply and demand and the increasing integration of the energy system may lead toalternative or additional routes compared to the ones described in this paper, andthe timeline of some of the 2030 and 2040 proposed routes may be shifted forward
or backward in time. The timelines for the scale up of hydrogen can vary fromcountry to country, reflecting national energy policy discussions and the status ofhydrogen investment projects as well as the rate of renewable energy developments.
Across Europe, the speed with which dedicated hydrogen transport infrastructure
can be created depends on market conditions for natural gas and hydrogen, politicalsupport to stimulate hydrogen production and demand, and regulatory frameworks
for hydrogen transport.
The aforementioned energy market, policy, and regulatory drivers are subject toeven more volatility as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Although this reportconsiders and welcomes the need to accelerate hydrogen developments in view of
geopolitical events, it also acknowledges that the corresponding level of disruption toenergy and gas markets and infrastructure are and will continue to be multi-faceted,unpredictable, and variable over time. The role of LNG, biomethane, alternative
pipeline gas, and hydrogen volumes, including all connected infrastructure, areclosely interlinked and their uncertainty – especially in the short and medium-term– implies that infrastructure planning must be done in a manner that is responsive
and resilient to different potential future scenarios. For this reason, the network maps
and infrastructure proposals in this publication are accompanied, where possible,
by call-out boxes indicating key uncertainties, identified by the TSOs, that have thepotential to affect the infrastructure proposals as shown.
The next chapter presents updated 2030 and 2040 EHB maps, including
a description of their developments and impact. The final chapter describes
acceleration levers that can help to promote rapid roll-out of the EHB and support
the EC’s goals as described in their REPowerEU plan.

The EHB initiative has grown to
31 European network operatorswith infrastructure covering
25 EU Member States plus Norway,
the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

CMYK
10 0 / 75 / 2 0 / 10CMYK
6 0 / 0 / 10 0 / 0
CMYK
12 / 0 / 10 / 5 0

7 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

2. Gradual creation of a dedicatedhydrogen infrastructure to increase theresilience of the European energy system
2.1. Acceleration of hydrogen infrastructure to enable
the emergence of pan-European supply and importcorridors by 2030

10 20.6 Mt of hydrogen corresponds with
680 TWh (lower heating value).
11 13 GW 5000 full load hours is consistent withassumptions used in previous EHB work,
however these can vary depending on
operational parameters such as operatingpressure, steel grade, etc. Detailed technoeconomic assumptions used in prior EHB work
are documented in the Appendix of this report.
12 EHB (2021) – Analysing future demand,
supply, and transport of hydrogen. Source:
https://gasforclimate2050.eu/wp-content/
uploads/2021/06/EHB_Analysing-the-futuredemand-supply-and-transport-of-hydrogen_June-2021_v3.pdf.
13 The kilometres represent all stretches that are
visualised in the map, except the dotted importlines from third countries

8 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONEThe European Commission’s REPowerEU plan aims to reach an additional
15 Mt of hydrogen on top of the 5.6 Mt foreseen under Fit for 55.¹⁰ The total
expected volume of 20.6 Mt by 2030 will likely consist of a range of supply
sources including, amongst other options: co-located (demand-side) electrolysis;
centralised hydrogen production from captive renewable energy sources; largescale blue hydrogen production; pipeline imports; and ship imports of hydrogen
derivatives such as ammonia and methanol. Depending on their use case, thesevolumes will require varying degrees of transport infrastructure to connect supply
regions to demand.
Previous EHB analysis has shown that a hydrogen pipeline can transport
some 65 TWh of hydrogen per year.¹¹ For perspective, this means thattransporting half of the REPowerEU target of 10 Mt, or 330 TWh, would
require approximately five large-scale pipeline corridors. Based on an initial
analysis of supply potentials, demand centres, and TSOs assessments of the ability
to repurpose existing natural gas and build new hydrogen pipelines,¹² up to five
supply corridors could emerge by 2030. These cross-border corridors, shownin the accelerated EHB network map in Figure 2, can integrate large volumesof renewable and low-carbon hydrogen using solar resources in southern andeastern European countries, and wind resources around the North, Baltic, andMediterranean Seas. In regions where solar PV and wind resource potential areboth abundant, hybrid PV and wind configurations are also an option to provide
cost-competitive hydrogen production by drawing on strong renewable potential.
The 2030 hydrogen infrastructure map, as presented in figure 2, would consist ofa total length of ~28,000 km¹³.
Connecting these abundant supply regions to hydrogen consumers in thecentre of Europe through cross-border pipeline corridors will become increasingly
important as adoption of hydrogen in the transport, industry, and power sectors
accelerates and leads to demand outgrowing supply in regions with modest
renewable energy production potential. The developments also pave the way forhydrogen pipeline imports from North Africa through Spain or Italy, from Ukraine
through Poland, Slovakia or Hungary, or ship imports of hydrogen derivatives via
planned new or repurposed import terminals.

Talinn
PipelinesStockholm Storages
Repurposed
Salt cavern
New
Aquifer
SubseaDepleted field
Import / Export
Rock cavern
UK 2030 pipelines
depends on pending selectionof hydrogen clusters

Figure 2 – 2030
Accelerated and updated 2030 EHB network supports
the EC’s REPowerEU ambition to accelerate the creation
Göteborgof a domestic and import market for hydrogen and toincrease European energy system resilience

Building on its alreadyplanned ambitious
projects, increased
offshore and importtargets will lead toeven faster project
developments andhigher infrastructure
utilisation.

Hamburg

BerlinRotterdam

Leipzig

Vilnius

GdanskNorth Sea
corridoria

Riga

General remarks
Across all corridors, market conditions are continuously evolving. Map subject toupdates resulting from new announcements, considering natural gas supplies,
LNG flows and regulatory development.

Copenhagen

LondonOther
City, for orientation purposes
Energy hub / Offshore (wind)hydrogen production
Existing or planned
gas-import-terminal

Nordic & Baltic
corridor
Accelerated hydrogen
infrastructurebuild-­out with large
offshore and onshore
wind potential andindustrial hydrogenclusters.

Warsaw

CologneKrakow

PragueFrankfurt

Oslo

Helsinki
TalinnStockholm

Paris

MunichGöteborg
ViennaBratislava

Riga

Budapest

Edinburgh

Copenhagen

Ljubljana

Lyon

Milan

Hamburg

VeniceManchester
DublinBucharest(South) Eastern

BerlinRotterdam

Cork
LondonWarsaw
CologneLeipzig
Krakow

PragueFrankfurt

Marseille

SoﬁaSouthwest corridor

Accelerating the networkbuilding on synergies
of high hydrogenproduction potential
in Spain/Portugal
Barcelonaand
storage potential inFrance, while considering
evolution of natural gas
supplies and LNG flows
due to recent challenges.
ValenciaVilnius

GdanskParis
Rome

MunichViennaEuropean corridor
Connecting highpotential regionsin eastern Europe
depends on dynamic
evolution of natural
gas flows due to recent
challenges.

Bratislava
Budapest

Lyon

Ljubljana
Milan
VeniceBordeaux
BilbaoBucharest

PalermoMarseille

Soﬁa
Rome

Porto

AthensBarcelona

MadridValencia

LisbonPalermo
Almeria
Tarifa9 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

AthensNorth Africa – Italy
corridorTransporting large
quantities of costcompetitive greenhydrogen production
potential in Northern
Africa and Southern Italy.

European Hydrogen Backbone initiative 2022,
supported by Guidehouse14 This corridor will for example be able toconnect the salt caverns around Lyon andMarseille with the hydrogen stretches aroundthe east coast of Spain. For example, Lacq
Hydrogen Project which exploits the synergies
of production of renewable hydrogen in Spainand storage in Terega's UGS in France.
15 7 hydrogen clusters were identified in France
resulting from a Public Consultation by
gas TSOs Terega and GRTgaz. National
and European H2 network interconnections
will make it possible to cover possible local
production deficits in certain regions.
https://www.terega.fr/acteur-de-lhydrogene/consultation-des-acteurs-du-marche-de-lhydrogene-bas-carbone-et-renouvelable
16 Planned projects include for example
Aquaventus, the North Sea Wind Power Hub,
the Norwegian energy hub or Danish offshore
energy islands, other terminal locations areunder investigation such as Stade and Rostock.
17 Based on announced and planned projects,
such as the H2ercules project, some updates
to the network in 2030 in this corridor are
expected.

10 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONEAs shown in Figure 2, up to five pan-European supply and import corridors
can be envisioned to support the European Commission’s REPowerEU ambitions.
The increased ambition for diversification towards offshore renewables away fromfossil fuels, will lead to more renewable hydrogen being transported through eachof these five corridors. Owing to rapid developments regarding import projects,
more hydrogen imports can be accommodated leading to higher infrastructure
utilisation.
In southern Europe, a corridor is likely to emerge connecting supply from
Tunisia and Algeria through Italy to central Europe. Drawing also on an extensive
and in some areas parallel natural gas network, this corridor will likely be able toleverage repurposed existing natural gas pipelines in Italy, Austria, Slovakia, andCzech Republic to import and transport green hydrogen from North Africa to central
Europe. This corridor could provide cost-competitive Tunisian and Algerian and Italy
solar and wind based green hydrogen to decarbonise existing industries along thetransit route as well as the Southern German clusters in Bavaria, the Rhin-Main area,
and Rhinland.
Another corridor could develop to export and transport green hydrogenproduced in the Iberian Peninsula. New interconnections between Portugal
and Spain, and the Iberian Peninsula and France through the East Pyrenees, could
allow all three countries to benefit from the complementary nature of low-cost, highvolume Spanish and Portuguese hydrogen production and underground storagesites, in France and in the Iberian Peninsula, to help provide stable supply for offtakers in the region.¹⁴ This corridor, which would stretch all the way to Germany, canplay an important role in decarbonising regional industrial and transport ecosystems
in Portugal, Spain and France,¹⁵ and deliver hydrogen at low cost to demand centres
in Germany. In the longer term this corridor can also provide access to hydrogen
imports from Morocco.
An interconnected corridor is likely to emerge around the North Sea,building on ongoing and planned offshore wind, large-scale integrated hydrogenprojects, and ship imports of hydrogen derivatives such as ammonia, methanol,and liquid hydrogen to meet demand around the industrial clusters and Ports ofRotterdam, Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Wilhelmshaven, Brunsbüttel and le Havre.¹⁶
In the Netherlands, the national backbone can be ready by 2027, connecting allindustrial clusters, storage facilities and neighbouring network operators (Germany
and Belgium), and by 2030 will function as a ring network. In Germany, hydrogenclusters in the North-West, in the Ruhr area and in the East, the Central German
Chemical Triangle, are expected to develop and will be interconnected and linked tohydrogen networks in other North-West European countries.¹⁷
Significant green hydrogen supply potential based on onshore and offshore winddrive the development of additional supply corridors that can connect Nordic
and Baltic hydrogen supply to the rest of Europe, building on regional networks
around industrial clusters in the regions of Jutland, Göteborg, the Bothnian Bay andindustrial clusters in Baltic states and Poland. This supply route can serve numerous
new green steel, e-fuel projects in the Nordics, and decarbonise existing industry
along the onshore route through Finland, the Baltic states and Poland. Great offshore
wind potential can also drive the development of new offshore pipeline connecting
Nordic supply with Central European demand. As this corridor will consist mostly of
newly built pipelines, development of this route by 2030 is especially dependent on
the funding, speed and efficiency of the permitting and planning processes as wellas the local market needs.

In East and South-East Europe, a fifth and final corridor could connecthydrogen off-takers in Central Europe to regions with abundant renewable energy incountries such as Romania, Greece, and Ukraine. The vast land availability and highcapacity factors for solar and wind, the availability of low-carbon hydrogen from
nuclear energy, and the option to repurpose large transit gas pipelines make thisregion an attractive candidate for large-scale hydrogen production. Nevertheless,the uncertainty concerning the evolution of future natural gas flows in this area
impacts the development of this corridor.
By 2030, hydrogen is likely to be imported through both pipelines andimport terminals. The split between pipeline and ship imports will depend on importterminal strategies unfolding as well as the pace of hydrogen production scale-up
in pipeline export regions such as Algeria and Tunisia. Where the more
economically favourable pipeline imports are not available, hydrogen
derivatives could be imported via ship to be directly used as methanol or ammonia
or to be reconverted to hydrogen for pipeline transmission in the onshore network.
Different regions will opt for different approaches and solutions when it comes tohydrogen import and export, based on their geopolitical situation. The updated
and accelerated 2030 EHB vision shows that European TSOs are ready to deliveron the infrastructure that is necessary to meet the REPowerEU targets.

2.2. Mature infrastructure stretching
towards all directions by 2040

18 The kilometres represent all stretches that are
visualised in the map with the billion euros inthe main text, except the dotted import lines
from third countries
19 EHB initiative (2021) – Analysing the future
demand, supply, and transport of hydrogen.
Source: https://gasforclimate2050.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2021/06/EHB_Analysingthe-future-demand-supply-and-transport-ofhydrogen_June-2021_v3.pdf.

11 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Between 2030 and 2040, the European Hydrogen Backbone will continue
to grow, covering more regions and developing new interconnections acrossMember States. Driven by the ambitious policy environment set in the Green
Deal, Fit for 55, and REPowerEU proposals, an increased urgency to meet climate
targets, and a rapidly increasing number of projects and initiatives supported bypublic authorities and industry, the supply corridors will naturally extend into areas
where cost-effective pipeline transport of hydrogen is needed to meet market
demands.
As large supply corridors come together, a core European Hydrogen
Backbone can be envisaged by 2040. This means that a pan-European
hydrogen infrastructure can be created connecting 28 European countries, as
shown in Figure 3. By 2040, the proposed backbone can have a total length ofalmost 53,000 kilometres¹⁸, consisting of approximately 60% repurposed existing
infrastructure and 40% of new hydrogen pipelines. Assuming that the backbone
is equipped with a fit for purpose and technically robust compression system, theproposed network could be able to adequately meet the foreseen 1,640 TWh ofannual hydrogen demand in Europe by 2040.¹⁹
Whereas initially the hydrogen backbone mainly serves industrial hydrogen
demand, between 2030 and 2040 hydrogen will increasingly become a significant
energy carrier in other sectors, including heavy transport, e-fuel production,
the building sector, and long-duration energy storage and dispatchable power
generation, thereby complementing the electricity grid to integrate large volumesof renewables in the energy system. Hydrogen imports via connections from export
regions such as Namibia, Chile, Australia and the Middle East, and hydrogen importterminals are expected to replace existing natural gas imports and will make up amaterial portion of future hydrogen volumes.

By connecting hydrogen producers with off-takers, this physical European
hydrogen network could enable the creation of a liquid pan-European
hydrogen market, thereby accelerating deployment of renewables, fostering
market competition, and revitalising Europe’s decarbonised industrial sector.
By 2040, many European countries will be closing in on their respective climate
targets. Complementing rapid deployment of renewables and electrification withstorable, climate-neutral energy carriers such as hydrogen will be key to ensure theoverall affordability and system adequacy of a future climate-neutral energy system.
By connecting hydrogen producers and consumers to large-scale undergroundhydrogen storage sites²⁰, the proposed backbone could help to integrate renewableenergy during periods of oversupply and offer much-needed ‘green’ security ofsupply and European energy sovereignty during periods of reduced renewableenergy production.
The direct link between hydrogen flows and corresponding network capacities isbeyond the scope of this paper. However, an initial study, commissioned by the EC
to serve as technical support to the development of the hydrogen and decarbonised
gas package proposal published in December 2021, makes use of future EHB
transmission and interconnection capacities to estimate the benefits and costs ofa pan-European hydrogen network²¹. The participating organisations of the EHB
initiative are currently also working on integrated modelling studies, at both Member
State and at European level.
Finally, it is important to note that while most accelerated climate scenarios expecthydrogen demand growth between 2030-2040 to be significant, even more growthin volume is expected to occur during the 2040s. As such, the 2040 backbone
displayed in Figure 3 should be considered as a critical milestone, but not a final
product. The backbone as proposed for 2040 represents a foundational network,“a mature hydrogen highway”, upon which further developments can be built.
Depending on the evolution of the hydrogen market, including the pace and locationof development, additional reinforcements and extensions to the backbone can bemade to accommodate these ambitions.

20 As a first-order result, GIE (2021) estimatesthat repurposing all existing European natural
gas sites to hydrogen would lead to up to
working gas capacity of 265 TWh hydrogenstorage, of which 50 TWh in salt caverns and
215 TWh in gas fields and aquifers. The role ofunderground hydrogen storage is expected
to vary from country to country and is subject
to national energy market dynamics. Source:
https://www.gie.eu/gie-presents-new-studypicturing-the-value-of-underground-gasstorage-to-the-european-hydrogen-system/.
21 METIS study on costs and benefits of a panEuropean hydrogen infrastructure (2021).
Source: https://op.europa.eu/en/publicationdetail/-/publication/c50a12fc-5eeb-11ec-9c6c01aa75ed71a1/language-en.

12 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Talinn
PipelinesStockholm Storages
Repurposed
Salt cavern
New
Aquifer
SubseaDepleted field
Import / Export
Rock cavern

Figure 3 – 2040
Mature infrastructure stretching
Göteborg
towards all directions by 2040

Other
City, for orientation purposes
Energy hub / Offshore (wind)hydrogen production
Existing or planned
gas-import-terminal

Riga

Copenhagen

Vilnius

GdanskHamburg

BerlinRotterdam

Warsaw
Leipzig

Londonia

CologneKrakow

PragueFrankfurt

Oslo

Helsinki
TalinnStockholm

Paris

MunichGöteborg
ViennaBratislava

Riga

Budapest

Edinburgh

Copenhagen

Ljubljana

Lyon

Milan

Hamburg

VeniceManchester
DublinBucharest

BerlinRotterdam

Cork
LondonVilnius

GdanskWarsaw
CologneLeipzig

Paris
Rome

Krakow

PragueFrankfurt

Marseille

MunichViennaBarcelonaSoﬁaBratislava
Budapest

Lyon

Valencia

Ljubljana
Milan
VeniceBordeaux
BilbaoBucharest

PalermoMarseille

Soﬁa
Rome

Porto

AthensBarcelona

MadridValencia

LisbonPalermoAthensAlmeria
TarifaEuropean Hydrogen Backbone initiative 2022,
supported by Guidehouse
13 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

To achieve the EC’s ambitious Fit for 55 and REPowerEU goals, and to foster anaccelerated development of the European Hydrogen Backbone as shown, this paper
presents the following levers to facilitate implementation of infrastructure projects.

3.
Accelerating
implementation of the
EHB

The EHB recommends introducing in the REPowerEU plan the establishment ofimport corridors, including all infrastructure requirements, as a political objective.
Establish a more integrated energy system planning of hydrogen, naturalgas, and electricity infrastructure at Member State level. Lead times for largescale transmission, storage, and port infrastructure implementation – including
development, engineering studies, and construction – can take up to 10 years.
Integrated infrastructure planning must start today in order to send the right market
signals, seize the upcoming investment windows, and have concrete infrastructure
projects in place by 2030 and 2035.
Promote efficient measures to facilitate the swift development of a
dedicated hydrogen infrastructure by fostering repurposing of existing
natural gas infrastructure Regulatory provisions should incentivise rapid roll-out
of hydrogen infrastructure – pipeline, storage, and port – including investment inassets that can be repurposed before 2030.
Simplify and shorten planning and permitting procedures for renewableenergy and hydrogen projects. Red tape is a major hurdle to the deploymentof renewables and hydrogen projects across Europe. Governments and the EU
can support project deployment by introducing frameworks for rapid mapping,assessment, and allocation of suitable land for infrastructure projects; and bydefining maximum processing times for environmental, permitting, and planningapplications.
Unlock financing to fast-track hydrogen infrastructure deployment. Flexible
economic models to incentivise investment in hydrogen infrastructure during thevolatile market ramp-up years should be explored. On a national level, countries
can subsidise upfront capital investments to mitigate utilisation risk during the earlyyears when volumes are scaling up. The EU can also incentivise private project
financing and make funding mechanisms such as the Connecting Europe Facility(CEF), Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) and Horizon
Europe funds, available to project developers and promoters.
Encourage international cooperation and create intra and extra-EUenergy and hydrogen partnerships. In order to maintain the quality of hydrogen,the EU must create EU-wide accepted standards, regulations and certifications
for the production and consumption of hydrogen. It must also enforce thesestandards on the imports of hydrogen. Member States can explore symbiotic
energy and hydrogen partnerships with future exporting countries, either throughEU programmes such as Strategic Partnerships for the Implementation of theParis Agreement (SPIPA), or bilaterally, such as Germany has done with multiple
countries from Morocco to the UAE in order to stimulate trade, energy imports,
and technology exports.

14 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Appendix A.
Cost of an expanded European
Hydrogen Backbone
Investment and operating costs
Based on the cost figures shown in Table 1, the total investment costs of theenvisaged 2040 European Hydrogen Backbone are expected to range from €80
to €143 billion²² covering the full capital cost of building new hydrogen pipelines
and repurposing pipelines for the European hydrogen backbone. Annual operating
costs are estimated to be between €1.6 and €3.2 billion when assuming a loadfactor of 5,000 hours per year²³. An overview of these costs is given in Figure 4.
FIGURE 4

low
62.7

Estimated investment andoperating costs of the European
Hydrogen Backbone (2040)

high
91.0

Pipeline costs(€ billion)

Range depending on
input assumptions as describedin Appendix A

medium74.1

Compression costs
17.2

26.6

52.4

Total investment cost(€ billion / year)

79.8

22 The euro amounts represent all stretches thatare visualised in the map, except the dotted
import lines from third countries
23 This study considers the backbone from an
infrastructure investment perspective and does
not take a strong stance on the exact level of
network utilisation. A load factor of 5000 hours
per year is deemed reasonable, cognizant of
the fact this value will change depending on
future market developments – and impact
resulting costs accordingly.
24 For pipeline transport, the n+1 redundancy
rule applies to ensure system availability inthe event of component failure.

15 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

100.7

143.3

Total OPEX
1.6

2.4

3.2

The main reason for the relatively large bandwidth is the uncertainty and variability
concerning compression system design and costs. In particular, compression
system capital costs depend heavily on the underlying concept design; including
whether the project is greenfield or brownfield, the design operating pressure
range, n+1 rule implementation,²⁴ and compressor technology choice (centrifugal
or reciprocating).

Levelised transport cost
Transporting hydrogen over 1,000 km along an average stretch of the onshorehydrogen backbone, as presented in this report, would cost €0.11 – €0.21 per kg ofhydrogen transported (€3.3 - €6.3 per MWh), with €0.15 per kg (€4.5 per MWh) for
the scenario with medium cost estimates. This cost estimate would be €0.17 - €0.32
per kg of hydrogen (€4.5 - €8.7 per MWh) per 1,000 km in case the hydrogen istransported entirely via dedicated subsea offshore pipelines. These figures confirm
that the EHB is an attractive and cost-effective option for long-distance transport ofhydrogen, considering an estimated future production cost of €1.0-€2.0 per kg ofhydrogen (€30 - €60 per MWh).
These cost estimates represent a weighted average across a wide range ofpipeline sizes and types – ranging from repurposed 20-inch pipelines to new
48-inch ones – and also reflect their respective distance and capacity-weighted
shares within the context of the overall European Hydrogen Backbone²⁵.
This means that even though smaller pipelines have a higher cost of transport
per unit distance, their modest share in terms of length and capacity leads to amarginal impact on overall transport costs when considering the pan-European
picture. The cost ranges reflect uncertainties in the estimate of the cost of theEuropean Hydrogen Backbone as a whole. Depending on circumstances, the costs
for individual stretches can be lower or higher than the range indicated.

FIGURE 5€/kg/1000km

Comparison of levelised transport
costs for onshore and offshore
pipelines for an average stretch of
the backbone in €/kg/1000km

low
0.11

medium
0.15

high
0.21

Onshore pipelines

Offshore pipelines
0.17

0.22

0.32

Unit cost assumptions

25 The levelised cost of hydrogen transport per
kg per 1,000 km is calculated by multiplying
the estimated levelised costs for each pipeline
diameter by their respective capacity-distanceweighted shares, i.e., the relative amount ofhydrogen transported by that pipeline size
across the entire backbone.
26 Offshore pipeline CAPEX and compressor
needs (expressed in MWe/km) are estimatedin a simplified manner by applying a 1.7x
multiplication factor to onshore pipelines of thesame diameter. This figure is based on typicaloffshore-onshore cost ratios seen in existing
offshore natural gas pipelines.

16 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Representative unit capital cost figures for small, medium, large and offshorehydrogen pipelines are summarised in Table 1. These figures use 20-inch (~500 mm),36-inch (~900 mm), and 48-inch (~1200 mm) as models to represent small, medium,and large pipelines respectively. The offshore pipelines are assumed to have thesame dimensions as onshore pipelines and costs are estimated by applying a 1.7x
multiplication factor to onshore pipelines of the same diameter.²⁶ Only using threedifferent pipeline sizes is a simplification of reality, given that the actual backbone
is made up of a continuous range of pipeline sizes. Additional underlying cost
assumptions such as compressor costs, depreciation periods, and operating andmaintenance costs are also shown in Table 1 and are consistent with those used inprevious EHB reports.

These cost estimates are based on gas TSOs’ preliminary R&D efforts regardinghydrogen infrastructure. The ranges are determined through comparison withexperience investing in and operating existing natural gas networks and based on
initial experience in pilot projects. Although some dedicated hydrogen components
have been tested in pilot projects, no large-scale hydrogen infrastructure exists todate to provide real historical benchmark figures. Equal to the previous results in2020 and 2021, these cost estimates are based on running an average single stretchof hydrogen pipeline. They do not incorporate a scenario-based simulation of a fullscale network as is commonly done for network development planning.

TABLE 1
Cost input ranges used for estimating total
investment, operating, and maintenancecosts for hydrogen infrastructure

Cost parameter

Low

Medium

High

Small

1.4

1.5

1.8

Medium

2.0

2.2

2.7

Large

2.5

2.8

3.4

Offshore Medium

3.4

3.7

4.6

Offshore Large

4.3

4.8

5.8

Small

0.2

0.3

0.5

Medium

0.2

0.4

0.5

Large

0.3

0.5

0.6

Offshore Medium

0.3

0.4

0.5

Offshore Large

0.4

0.5

0.6

Compressor station Capex

2.2

3.4

6.7

M€/MWeElectricity price

40

60

80

€/MWh

Pipeline operating & maintenance costs

0.8

0.9

1.0

Compressor operating & maintenance costs 1.7

1.7

1.7

€/year as% of Capex

Pipeline Capex,
new

Pipeline Capex,
repurposed²⁷

Weighted average cost of capital

5.0

Depreciation period pipelines

40

Depreciation period compressors

25

27 Offshore pipeline CAPEX for repurposed
pipelines is assumed to be 10% of the CAPEX
of the new pipelines. This is a based on
Guidehouse desk research and is percentage
wise a bit less than for onshore pipelines.

17 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Unit

M€/km

%
Years

The updated cost estimates are the result of a series of hydraulic simulations
conducted by gas TSOs. The modelled scenarios cover a range of point-topoint pipeline transport cases with varying input parameters – selected by TSOs
– including pipeline diameter and design capacity. Note that these analyses,
while thoroughly conducted, are not exhaustive and merely serve as high-levelapproximations of what would happen in a real network. Hence, given the simplifying
assumptions made in the analyses, these results should not be considered as
representative of a fully optimised, actual meshed pipeline grid. Below, Key results
are summarised in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2
Overview of unit capital costs and estimatedcosts of pipeline transport for different
pipeline types in the medium scenario

Pipeline

Compression

GW²⁸

Capex

Capex

LCOH

New

1.2

1.5

0.09

0.16

Repurposed

1.2

0.3

0.09

0.05

New

4.7

2.2

0.32

0.35

Repurposed

3.6

0.4

0.14

0.12

New

13

2.8

0.62

0.19

Repurposed

13

0.5

0.62

0.09

New

4.7

3.7

0.54

0.60

Repurposed

3.6

0.4

0.23

0.15

New

13

4.8

1.06

0.32

Repurposed

13

0.5

1.06

0.14

Pipeline specifications

Small
MediumLarge
Offshore Medium
Offshore Large

28 The pipeline capacities are kept constant incomparison with the previous EHB report from
April 2021 and are based on 75% capacity.
Furthermore, the operating pressure for large
pipelines was assumed to be 80 bar, and 50 bar
for medium and small pipelines.

18 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Unit€/kg/200 km€/kg/1000 km

Appendix B.
Country-specific developments
The evolution of a hydrogen network in the maps mentioned earlier in this reportpresents a vision. Further detailed modelling and a flow study are needed to define
the shape, size and ordering of hydrogen infrastructure, alongside policy support,
development of hydrogen markets and hydrogen supply scaling up. The evolutionof a hydrogen network in these maps illustrates one of many scenarios for thedevelopment of a dedicated hydrogen infrastructure. The EHB initiative considers
blending and deblending hydrogen in/from natural gas transport infrastructure as asuitable step especially during the 2020s and early 2030s in the transition towards a
dedicated hydrogen pipeline transport network.
Table 4 below sketches the general background and provides additional
information on hydrogen infrastructure development for all participating countries.
This information is provided by the respective energy infrastructure company (orcompanies) of each country.
TABLE 4
Country-specific narratives

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Austria

Austria’s current transmission gas
network is operated by two TSOs,
TAG and GCA and stretches over
~1,700 km. TAG mainly transits
natural gas from the easternborder with Slovakia towards
Italy. GCA’s network serves adual function and simultaneouslytransits gas mainly from Slovakia
towards Germany, Hungary andSlovenia and provides gas via its
primary distribution system fordomestic customers in Austria.
In the future, both TSOs expect to transport hydrogen, either blended
with methane or in pure form. The latter can be carried out via dedicatedhydrogen pipelines or via deblending facilities, which extracts hydrogenfrom the methane/hydrogen mixture. Austria has an ambitious target to
produce 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and acarbon neutrality target by 2040, although this is enabled partly by its
hydro sources, solar PV and wind will need to scale up substantially. Futurehydrogen use will increase in Austria with its industry presence in fuels,chemical and steel. However, the main driver for the emerging hydrogen
infrastructure would be the transit role, for the east-west corridor (Ukraine– Slovakia – Austria – Germany) and for the north-south corridors (North
Africa – Italy – Austria –Germany). Next to the transit role, the network
would also serve residential and industrial customers.

19 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Until 2030, a first step towards a dedicated hydrogen network could betaken via blending and deblending into/from the existing infrastructure
connecting Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy and Germany. By 2030,
GCA’s WAG pipeline could be entirely looped and one of TAGs parallel
pipelines could be repurposed to transit hydrogen in both directions. With
this, the Austrian network could serve two corridors to supply Germany
with green hydrogen, Ukrainian green hydrogen from Slovakia via Austria
and North African green hydrogen from Italy via Austria. Upon completion,
Austria’s grid would be ready as of 2035 to serve as a complete hydrogen
hub in the region. Bidirectional hydrogen transportation possibilities at allinterconnection points could be in place. In addition, GCA’s network would
also transport H₂ to Austrian (industrial) customers, such as one of Europe’s
largest steel plants in Linz, which is already running trials for hydrogenbased steelmaking and a large refinery located near Vienna.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Belgium
Fluxys Belgium is the owner andoperator of gas transmission,storage and LNG regasification
facilities in Belgium. The network
consists of 4,000 km of pipelines
and 18 interconnection points
with neighbouring countries andimport facilities. Fluxys is readyto build the gas network of the
future. They plan to progressively
reconfigure their natural gas
network in Belgium towards
the future energy system. They
have taken steps with Belgian industrial players and policymakers to
identify the potential for hydrogen production and consumption and theinfrastructure needed. The timing of the investments for new pipelines
and repurposed pipelines will however depend on the evolution ofnatural gas demand and the uptake of hydrogen demand. Considering
this and in line with the feedback received from the market, the first H₂
infrastructure could be ready by mid-2026.

The Belgian national backbone is expected to emerge throughdevelopments mainly in and around the industrial clusters of Antwerp
and Ghent, and along the industrial valley in Wallonia. Given theproximity between Antwerp and Rotterdam, port-to-port interconnections
with the Netherlands are likely. In addition, interconnections withFrance and Germany will provide Belgium access for import/exportof hydrogen from/to neighbouring countries. Hydrogen demand in
Belgium in 2040 is indeed expected to exceed production capacity,
so imports and exports with all neighbouring countries including the
UK – if technical and economic conditions are right – and imports
through the Zeebrugge terminal could be paramount in shaping theNorth-Western European Hydrogen infrastructure development. As
such, thanks to all the interconnections and import facilities, Belgium
will have become a true hydrogen hub importing and transiting H ₂ toneighbouring countries.

Bulgaria
Bulgartransgaz EAD is a com­bined operator performing
licensed activities of natural gas
transmission and storage. The
company operates 3 276 km
high pressure gas pipelines andChiren Underground Gas Storage
facility.
Bulgaria has strategic geo­
graphic location and welldeveloped gas infrastructure. By
implementation of the alreadycompleted and planned new
projects, proved itself as an important factor in ensuring energy security
and diversification of gas sources and routes for the region.
The company’s gas transmission system has interconnections withall neighbouring countries – Greece, North Macedonia, Romania,
Serbia and Turkey. Bulgartransgaz EAD is continuously developing its
infrastructure both for transmission and storage. The ongoing projects
for expansion of Chiren UGS, raising cross-border transmission
capacities and developing the national transmission network are ofutmost importance for the realisation of the Balkan Gas Hub concept.

20 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Bulgartransgaz EAD welcomes the EU’s plans for decarbonisation of
the energy and industrial sectors and strives to be adequate to thepan-European priorities in the fields of climate and energy. In line with
the European and National goals for climate neutrality and large-scalehydrogen deployment, Bulgartransgaz EAD is currently developing
several projects in the field of hydrogen transmission:– H ₂ ready pipeline in Maritsa Coal Region in Bulgaria;– Retrofitting of the existing gas transmission network for H ₂/natural
gas blends;– New dedicated H ₂ infrastructure for transmission of pure hydrogen
between the region of Sofia and the Bulgarian-Greek border near
Kulata (connection with DESFA), allowing future expansion to Romania
and the East Maritsa region.
These projects have the potential to become part of future European
hydrogen transmission corridors.

Country / Background
Croatia
Plinacro is the Croatian gas
transmission system operator andoperates more than 2,500 kmof transmission pipelines. The
Republic of Croatia has a welldeveloped gas transmission anddistribution system. The lengthof the distribution system is over
18,000 km, supplying gas directly
to more than 680,000 consumers
in 19 out of 20 counties andthe City of Zagreb (if indirect
users supplied over the district
heating system are taken into account the number of natural gas users
is significantly higher). The gas transmission system is connected to theregional and European gas system via the interconnections with Hungary
and Slovenia, while through the LNG terminal and evacuation pipelines
it is connected to the global LNG market and it enables gas transmission
towards the regional and European market.
Plinacro aims to remain an esteemed and leading infrastructural energy
entity in the transmission business in the Republic of Croatia and an
important strategic energy partner in the region and the European
Union, which enables its users to meet their energy requirements in atransparent and socially and environmentally responsible manner.
Utilization of hydrogen and decarbonization of the Croatian andregional gas market will enable Plinacro and other gas market players toremain important part of the future EU low carbon energy society.

Hydrogen infrastructure development
CMYK
10 0 / 75 / 2 0 / 10

PA N TO N E
2 81 C

CMYK
6 0 / 0 / 10 0 / 0

PA N TO N E
369 C

CMYK
12 / 0 / 10 / 5 0

PA N TO N E
4 31 C

Infrastructure requirements for hydrogen transmission in a short-term
period will remain limited. Mixing of hydrogen with natural gas is
expected.
In the second phase, infrastructure will transport hydrogen not only forlarge customer clusters, but also for supplying energy to the residential
and commercial buildings.
Development of the future decarbonised infrastructure will be based on
the following guidelines:– All major interconnection and transmission gas pipelines planned in
the short time period will be developed as hydrogen-ready,– Planning and reconstruction of the gas system for receiving andadding decarbonised gases into the natural gas stream will begin.
This includes the development of a “smart gas network”.
– In compliance with the plans of the neighbouring operators, theexisting interconnections will be repurposed to transport hydrogenby 2040,– Hydrogen will be supplied to all major urban centres, the entire 75bar system and parts of 50-bar system will be repurposed to receive
and transport 100% H ₂, while it is anticipated that local biomethane
production will be able to supply other areas,– After 2040, the existing location of the LNG terminal will be
repurposed to receive decarbonised gases and, if necessary, newevacuation infrastructure will be constructed,– Potential new corridors for the transmission of decarbonised gases
from the eastern Europe and the southern and eastern Mediterraneancountries towards the central Europe will be developed.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic’s gas TSO,
NET4GAS, operates around
4,000 km of pipelines consistingof three major branches ofdouble or even triple pipelines
which serve for internationaltransit – connecting Germany,
Slovakia and Poland – while
also covering domestic demand.
NET4GAS sees the gas
infrastructure as an enabler ofdecarbonisation in the energy
sector and expects to transporthydrogen (and other renewable or decarbonised gases) in the future.
Due to its geographical position, NET4GAS will remain an importanttransit TSO as it can transport hydrogen from an Eastern direction(e.g., from Ukraine via Slovakia), from a Southern direction (e.g., from
North Africa via Italy and Austria) as well as from the North-West (e.g.,
Germany). In 2021, the Czech Republic published its own hydrogenstrategy, which it assumes that the Czech Republic, to meet domestichydrogen demand, will need to import hydrogen from abroad by
repurposed pipelines. Potential utilisation of hydrogen is expectedin carbon intensive and hard-to-abate industrial processes such as
ammonia, cement, steel production or fuels and transportation. But
also, in the power production and (district) heating sectors there is anincreased interest in hydrogen as an energy carrier.

21 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

There are several long-term gas transmission contracts in place. The major
contracts expire at the beginning of 2035 and in 2039, respectively.
The possibility for hydrogen transportation from the Eastern border with
Slovakia to the Western border with Germany is shown in the updated
maps in 2030. This option would – under certain circumstances still tobe analysed – allow for initial hydrogen imports from Ukraine and North
Africa in the early 2030ies by connecting major non-EU supply sources
and regions with the hydrogen demand centres in the EU. In addition, by
2035 the Gazelle pipeline could provide a large-scale connection forhydrogen transportation between the Northern and Southern regions ofGermany. The recent analysis has shown higher probability of East-Westflows in the medium term horizon. For such a transport, the southernbranch of the N4G system is a more suitable option. For 2040, thepossibility for hydrogen transportation from the Eastern border with
Slovakia to the border with Germany could be further strengthened by apipeline on the northern branch which could provide an additional entry
point to the EU hydrogen markets. Should the priorities on the respective
entry into these markets change, such option may become available earlier.
As indicated by the National Hydrogen Strategy, additional hydrogen
demand in the industrial regions, for instance close to the Polish border,
is becoming more realistic in the late 2030s’. In the updated maps, there
is a new connection to the hydrogen backbone based on a combinationof partly repurposed and newly built pipelines. Such pipelines might also
be providing a connection to the Polish system. Such option still has to beanalysed. In addition, NET4GAS currently runs the incremental capacity
process for a new connection to Austria. On the Czech side such aconnection will be hydrogen ready and, if implemented, might provide
additional hydrogen transportation options to the region.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Denmark
Denmark has set out a 70% greenhouse gas
emissions reduction target by 2030, and in
December of 2021 the Danish government
published its proposal for a Danish Powerto-X (PtX) strategy with an ambitious Danish
capacity target of 4-6 GW electrolysis by2030. Infrastructure is a large part of the
proposal, and the government addresses thismatter with ambitions to examine the regulatory
barriers for the development of a hydrogenmarket and to support the export of hydrogenand PtX products by creating the framework fora hydrogen infrastructure that can eventually
be linked to a common European hydrogen infrastructure. The strategy also mentions
innovative activities such as offshore PtX production in relations to the development of
the two Danish energy islands, which in the first phase will supply 5 GW of electricity
from offshore wind, rising to at least 12 GW once fully developed.
Denmark’s electricity and gas TSO, Energinet, owns and operates a gas transmission
pipeline grid of around 925 km, with cross border connections to Germany andSweden. An expansion with the Baltic Pipe connecting Norway, Denmark with Poland
will be in operation from 2022, expanding the pipeline grid to approximately 1,250 km.
Energinet owns and operates two gas storages facilities, one cavern and one aquifer
storage. A market dialogue with 19 actors was carried out in 2021 by Energinet andthe Danish Energy Agency, indicating the need for access to a hydrogen infrastructure
already before 2030 to support the several large-scale electrolysis projects that havebeen announced in Denmark, totalling around 6.5 GW of installed capacity by 2030.
Energinet has initiated the process of evaluating a 93 km stretch of infrastructure
considered eligible for repurposing to hydrogen transport, subject to successful
completion of the prepared requalification and material testing program.

By 2030, initial development of the Danish backbone
consists of newly constructed hydrogen pipelines and therepurposing of an existing natural gas pipeline, connecting
large scale hydrogen producers and industrial clusters
with large scale storage facilities and export opportunities
though the interconnection with Germany. By 2035,
Denmark seeks to draw upon its significant offshore windresource in combination with electrolysis to attract new
industries, such as e-fuels. The energy islands together withthe buildout of large-scale onshore PV will be the drivers
for the expansion of the national hydrogen infrastructure,
which in the west expands into the North Sea enabling
offshore hydrogen production at the energy island. The
eastern route is meanwhile extended by connecting
the Copenhagen area with Sweden and through a newtransmission pipeline that could be constructed fromthe Copenhagen area southwards towards Germany. By
2040, the east and west backbones are connected acrossDenmark by repurposing the Baltic Pipe, which is further
extended towards Poland to enable a supply connection,
while a northern connection from Jutland towards
demand areas in Sweden also emerges. In the North Sea
a hydrogen interconnector is established between theDanish Energy Island and the Dutch offshore hydrogenproduction in area 6, thus enabling export of hydrogenproduced offshore. The 2030 – 2040 maps show many
possible developments for hydrogen transport, which will
co-exist with the biomethane grid. What specific pipeline
developments are realised depends on the societal
economic value, and demand situation in the future.

Estonia
Estonia’s electricity and gas TSO, Elering,
operates a pipeline grid of 977 km, including
the subsea interconnector with Gasgrid
Finland. With offshore wind potential of 7GW
and 24TWh¹⁶, Estonian offshore wind energy
potential alone will far exceed its domestic
electricity demand (link). Without the
introduction of green hydrogen, the offshore
wind production and installed capacity may
not even reach its full potential due to large
amounts of energy which could be curtailed
during high wind periods. Connecting thenational backbone to the European Hydrogen
Backbone supports system integration of large volumes of offshore wind, enabling a
relatively small country to supply multiple potential demand regions across Europe.
The benefits of realising the Baltic Sea offshore- and Nordic onshore wind potential
would not only be regional. Connecting the Baltic region with Central Europe withan onshore or offshore pipeline would enable Europe to increase its energy selfsufficiency and energy security. Green hydrogen would allow for integration andstorage of the offshore wind and transport this green energy to hard-to-decarbonise
regions in Central (Eastern) Europe. Hydrogen pipeline network could enable the useof hydrogen in dispatchable power plants, thus guaranteeing the security of supply
for electricity.

22 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

In the beginning of the 2030s, the first offshore windfarms
are expected to be present west of Estonia, in the Baltic
Sea. Due to the large volumes of energy produced in
offshore wind farms, compared to the relatively small
electricity demand in the Baltics, hydrogen production
could be economically feasible early on. This renewableenergy oversupply could open a possibility to export
green hydrogen to Central Europe with pipelines inthe
second half of 2030s. Until the Estonian renewable energy
production capacity ramps up, Estonia could act as anonshore transit corridor from Finland to other Baltic states
and Poland. As such new build hydrogen pipelines would
be a great undertaking for a small country like Estonia,
the realization would largely depend on the demand side
interest funding and multinational agreements. For thishydrogen transit pipeline to be possible in 2030, strong
incentives from both EU, regional and national level areneeded, in the form of rapid planning, permitting, securing
appropriate funding and agreement on tariffing.
By 2040 further offshore wind power expansion is
expected together with hydrogen production in western
Estonia, that could supply other regions needing greenhydrogen.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

FinlandFinland’s gas transmission system
operator (TSO) Gasgrid Finlandowns and operates a network inthe south of Finland of 1,300km
and a subsea interconnector into
Estonia with Estonian gas andelectricity TSO Elering.
Finland has an ambitious carbon
neutrality target already for 2035.
The demand for clean hydrogenin Finland could grow and scale
rapidly in industry, considering
the 2035 carbon neutrality target
and strong presence of steel, chemicals, and fuel production. Thus,
hydrogen and power-to-X production has significant potential in Finland.
Finland has also significant onshore and offshore wind potential.
Fingrid Oyj (electricity TSO in Finland) has received already 157 GWs
of inquiries for wind power connections. In one of its scenarios
Fingrid is estimating 25 GW of wind power already by 2035¹⁹. Windpower is estimated to develop at a very cost-competitive price level in
Finland providing significant opportunities for hydrogen production.
In addition, district heating is common in Finland, which increases
the competitiveness of hydrogen projects as there is the possibility toutilise heat from electrolysis process for production of district heating.
Furthermore, land and water availability are additional factors supporting
competitiveness of hydrogen production in Finland adding to the large
potential of hydrogen production in Finland.
The need for energy system integration is a key driver of development of
a hydrogen network which could support the development of a carbon
neutral energy system in Finland by providing intermediate energy
storage and efficient transport of renewable energy from supply sources
to the demand locations. It would also enable creation of a hydrogenmarket connecting hydrogen producers and consumers. Later-on thenational hydrogen network could also be connected to hydrogen
networks in other countries, connecting Finland with larger European
hydrogen markets with expected significant increase in hydrogen
demand. This would enable hydrogen export and also access to central
European gas storage facilities.

23 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Hydrogen infrastructure in Finland is envisioned to develop in threestrategic geographical areas; Bothnian Bay region and the west-coastwith significant renewable energy sources and identified H₂ demand,south and south-east Finland (Uusimaa & Kymenlaakso areas) withsignificant existing and expected hydrogen demand and the Southwest
Finland & Satakunta areas with potential hydrogen demand andsignificant renewable energy resources.
The development of these hydrogen valleys could emerge due toidentified significant use of hydrogen in industry (low-carbon fuelproduction, chemicals, steel, mining) and possibility to utilise clean
energy resources for hydrogen production as well as for supporting
also Finland in achieving its 2035 carbon neutrality targets.
As a large part of the supply and demand is expected to develop in
regions where there is no (or only limited) existing gas transmission
infrastructure, the hydrogen infrastructure is envisioned to be based on
new built pipelines.
Therefore, Gasgrid Finland and Nordion Energi (Swedish gas TSO) havestarted to jointly develop a large scale greenfield cross-border hydrogen
infrastructure – Nordic Hydrogen Route https://nordichydrogenroute.
com/ - in the region of Bothnian Bay with the target of having the network
operational by 2030. The Bothniab Bay onshore interconnection to
Sweden could create a Finnish-Swedish hydrogen market at the Bothnia
Bay area. Also, another interconnector to Sweden could be developedwith direct subsea route crossing the Gulf of Bothnia with potential
offshore connection also to Germany.
In addition, the Finnish hydrogen network could develop aroundhydrogen valleys in the south, southeast and southwest of Finlandalready during this decade. To support the development of the energy
system and creation of hydrogen market, the hydrogen valleys could
also be connected. A connection along the west coast of Finland
enables more extensive utilization of wind for hydrogen production
and aids the energy transfer from north to south. A possible subsea
interconnector to Estonia connects Finland to the Baltics and to potential
demand markets in central, northern and eastern Europe.
By 2040, national hydrogen valleys are envisioned to be connected,
and a national hydrogen network developed. Up north, the hydrogengrid could extend further north, and potentially also additional northsouth pipelines could be developed. Even further expansion of theFinnish hydrogen network could facilitate accelerated deployment ofwind power to fully utilise the potential enabled by great land availability
in the northern and eastern parts of Finland.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

FranceFrance’s current gas network
is operated by GRTgaz which
operates 32,000 kilometresof pipelines and Teréga,
which operates a 5,000 km
network in the South-West.
The networks serve industry,
power and residential customers
while GRTgaz also transits
gas to Switzerland, Italy, andTeréga transports gas to andfrom Spain, connecting the
Iberian peninsula. Both TSOs
are convinced that hydrogen and biomethane, next to electrification,
will play an pivotal role in the future French energy system. GRTgaz
has ongoing hydrogen projects such as mosaHYc, Jupiter 1000,
Rhyne, Hynframed while Teréga is involved in trials around hydrogenstorage as HyGéo project and studying industrial applications in the
Lacq region cluster (Lacq Hydrogen project), building on synergies
with the cost-competitve renewable hydrogen produced in Spain andlocally produced hydrogen. As shown by industrial stakeholders inthe study "The role of hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure:
An opportunity for industrial competitiveness", infrastructure at thenational level can have hydrogen clusters benefit from drastic pricereductions (https://systemesenergetiques.org/le-role-des-infrastructuresde-transport-et-de-stockage-dhydrogene-un-enjeu-de-competitiviteindustrielle/).

24 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

By 2030, regional dedicated hydrogen networks will emerge aroundindustrial clusters, with existing fossil hydrogen production or
consumption, in Dunkerque, in the Seine Valley from Le Havre to thevicinity of Paris, and around Lyon, Lacq and Marseille. The hydrogencluster around Dunkerque will be supplied with decarbonised hydrogenfrom offshore wind, as well as low-carbon hydrogen. This cluster
will also co-benefit from the hydrogen valleys in Belgium and theNetherlands. In the east of France, a regional cluster will also develop
at the border between France, Germany, and Luxemburg with thecommissioning of the mosaHYc project. Another Hub will also emerge inthe south of Alsace were clean hydrogen is needed in the fertilizer andchemical industry, paving the way for an interconnection with
Switzerland and Germany in the longer term.
The southern clusters in Marseille-Fos and Lacq are also expected
to have access to green hydrogen from solar PV and Mediterranean
offshore wind. Lastly, dynamic development of green hydrogen for fuelcell projects and industrial uses is expected to continue and to lead to aneed for a dedicated hydrogen pipeline in the region surrounding Lyon.
As of 2030, a third interconnection between the Iberian peninsula andFrance will be operating, concretising the Backbone.
By 2035, additional hubs emerge near Saint Nazaire/Nantes, Bordeaux
and along the Mediterranean coast, powered by offshore wind or lowcarbon electricity and combined with the evolution of Seaports activities.
Those hubs will connect to Region of Paris, and to Lyon along the Rhone
Valley, thus enabling the decarbonisation of existing grey hydrogenconsumptions and the development of new hydrogen uses in mobility(road, inland navigation, rail, airports). The North-West of France will also
be connected to the East of France and to the Region of Paris via theretrofitting of existing gas pipelines. This will enable interregional transit
and an easier integration of renewable electricity in the energy system,
and it will bring flexibility to the system. The French network will also allow
a transnational transit from Spain to Belgium, Germany or Luxembourg.
By 2040, a mature network has emerged of mostly repurposed pipelines
which has 3 interconnectors with Spain, while also connecting to Belgium,
Germany, and Switzerland. The three interconnectors to Spain enablesecurity of supply and flexibility in the large, expected flows of hydrogenfrom Spain and possibly North Africa into the rest of Europe. On thewest side another stretch also provides a different route within France totransport hydrogen, while also serving local customers and industry on
the way. In the South, Teréga’s storage locations would build on synergies
with renewable hydrogen from Spain and Portugal, enabling a stable andsecure hydrogen supply further up North.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Germany
OGE, headquartered in Essen,
operates the largest German gas
transmission system spanning
12,000 kilometres. Two thirdsof natural gas consumed inGermany flow through OGE’spipeline system, comprising
about 100 compressor units
and about 1100 exit points.
With its OGE 2030+ strategy
implemented in 2018 thecompany defined a new
purpose, namely, to enableenergy supply today and in the future energy mix. While dedicatedto providing efficient and reliable transport services for natural gas,
the main focus in business development today is to become a leading
provider of infrastructure in a decarbonised energy system in Germany
and Europe, re-purposing natural gas infrastructure for transporting
pure hydrogen, securing international import routes for hydrogen andinvestigating the transport of CO₂ are key areas of activity today.
ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH is a national gas transmission system
operator in the European gas transport system based in Leipzig.
ONTRAS operates Germany’s second-largest gas transmission system,with approximately 7,700 km of pipelines and about 450 interconnection
points. ONTRAS links the interests of transport customers, traders, regional
network operators and producers of renewable and decarbonised
gases. Since 2013, they have been transporting green hydrogen fromtwo power-to-gas plants, as an admixture in their network. In the Bad
Lauchstädt Energy Park real laboratory, they will be converting approx.
20 kilometres of natural gas pipeline to pure hydrogen by 2024. And
with their IPCEI projects, they are driving forward the development of ahydrogen economy in Eastern Germany.
As result of Germany’s federal election in September 2021 the newFederal Government consists of a coalition between the Social Democrats(SPD), the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP). The new government
coalition intends to pursue the goal of climate neutrality by 2045 set by
the previous Government. In its coalition treaty the Government proclaims
a technology neutral approach to energy policy that includes cross-sector
instruments aimed at achieving these targets. In addition, the sectorspecific targets of the current Climate Protection Act will be replaced byholistic monitoring of all sectors in a revision in 2022.
Hydrogen features prominently in both, the Government’s industrial
policy and its energy policy strategy. For 2022, the Government hasannounced the overhaul of the National Hydrogen Strategy, publishedby the previous government coalition in 2020. Hydrogen is consideredalongside electricity as a prerequisite for Europe’s ability to act andcompete in the 21st century. The Federal Government expects highfuture demand for hydrogen. Accordingly, the hydrogen economy
is to be ramped up quickly and comprehensively with the necessary
resources. The primary focus is set on domestic green hydrogen forwhich the government has announced to raise the target for installedcapacity from 5 to 10 GW by 2030. However, blue hydrogen is also
considered an option. Generally, hydrogen imports will play a major
role. Appropriate hydrogen networks and import structures are to becreated timely also within international co-operations. Moreover, the new
Government’s plans to accelerate approval procedures. It considers gasfired power plants as a prerequisite for system stability in the transition
to a climate neutral economy and recognises the need for additional
capacity if H₂-ready.
In November 2021, the German TSOs published maps for a German H₂
grid in 2030 and 2050. These demonstrate the feasibility to establish acost-efficient and reliable hydrogen grid in Germany.

25 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

As part of the network development plan (NDP) 2020-2030, theGerman transmission system operators (TSOs) have published first plans
for an initial national hydrogen network 2030 based on a market survey
in 2019. Further elaborations by the TSOs regarding projections about
future production and demand of hydrogen have resulted in the nationalhydrogen network maps for 2030 and 2050 published by FNB Gas inNovember 2021. These maps feature more extended hydrogen networks
than those displayed in the network development plan (NDP) 20202030, as a higher hydrogen demand and subsequently larger transportvolumes are taken into account. The work is based on a scenario for the
production and use of hydrogen in Germany developed together withthe consulting company 4Management on the basis of the recognised
DENA pilot study I (TM95).
The NDP 2022-2032 is currently being prepared and its publication with
updated hydrogen networks will take place later this year.
The German hydrogen network 2030 connects different demandclusters like Ruhr Area, Rhine-Main Area, Eastern Germany, Central
German chemical triangle and Bavaria with hydrogen sources inGermany, especially in the North, and with important import routes.
As such, pipeline connections to the Netherlands, the North Sea andto Denmark and to Poland and the Baltic Sea for integrating offshore
pipelines and possible imports are foreseen. While in the Southeast
import connections to Austria and the Czech Republic emerge. In
the West, connections to Belgium and France occur, while a newconnection to Poland in the East will be available for imports to meetgrowing national demand in different regions.
The compiled German H₂ network has a total length of about 5,200 km
by 2030, with some 3,700 km of repurposed natural gas pipelines, andwould be able to meet a hydrogen demand of around 70 TWh.
By 2040, a new interconnection emerges to Switzerland and an
additional connection with Poland and Czech Republic, thereby further
enhancing security of supply.
The German H₂ network for 2040 is derived from the FNB Gas network
publications for 2030 and 2050.
(The published FNBGas H₂ network for 2050 has a total length of about
13,300 km with about 11,000 km of repurposed natural gas pipelines
and can provide an energy quantity of 504 TWh (net calorific value) at apeak demand of around 110 GWh/h.)Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Great Britain
National Grid owns and operates
the National Transmission System
in Great Britain, a network
consisting of approximately
7,630km of pipelines. The UK
government has targeted at least
10GW hydrogen production
capacity and 40 GW offshore
wind by 2030, with four low
carbon industrial clusters
established. A dedicatedhydrogen transmission system
is expected to emerge in GreatBritain (the island consisting of England, Scotland and Wales) initiallythrough the phased repurposing of existing natural gas transmission
pipelines to join GB’s largest industrial clusters (Grangemouth, Teesside,
Humberside, Merseyside and South Wales). This will provide resilienceto the clusters and could support the conversion of some industries
outside of these clusters. The initial development of the emerging
hydrogen backbone in GB aims to utilise and repurpose pipelines totransport hydrogen, whilst still maintaining the security of supply on theexisting natural gas transmission system. Further conversion of remaining
pipelines will likely develop at a later stage and may require small
sections of new pipelines to enable the transition.

By 2030, up to four of the five industrial clusters could be connected
and will form the basis of a GB hydrogen transmission backbone. Dueto the sensitivities around industrial cluster developments, National
Grid Gas does not hold any views on the phased sequencing of which
industrial clusters are likely to connect first as it relates to this study.
Additionally, there may be connections to St Fergus in north Scotland
and Bacton on the east coast, providing additional hydrogen supplies
which could help integrate the large amounts of renewable energy
from offshore wind. By 2035, it is possible that all clusters could beconnected. A converted pipeline to Bacton, located on the east coast,
could enable future hydrogen flows across the interconnectors between
GB and Belgium and GB and the Netherlands once ready. Further
repurposed pipelines may start to emerge between 2035 and 2040,
including a connection to Moffat, enabling hydrogen to flow across theinterconnector between GB and Ireland alongside natural gas flows. Ashydrogen production scales, further expansion of this hydrogen network
will occur throughout the 2040s enabling a greater reach acrossindustrial, power, transport and domestic heating sectors. The maps
represent the selection of pipelines that could have started the hydrogen
repurposing process but may not have completed full conversion by
the date on the map. Sequencing and formally defined routes have notbeen determined, therefore some of these pipelines could be converted
in the following 5 to 10-year period.

GreeceGreece’s TSO is DESFA, which
operates a relatively new networkof 1,456km. Greece’s excellent
conditions for both wind and solar
power would allow the complete
phase out of coal-based power
plants by 2028 or even earlier.
There are plans to increase
installed capacity of Wind Powerto 7 GW and Solar PV to almost
8 GW, as stated in its NECP.
There is a current hydrogenproduction capacity (captive) in
Greece is 150 thousand ton/y, from fossil fuels, covering a demand of
5 TWh (mostly from refineries and ammonia production industries).
The three main industrial clusters, in Athens, Corinth and Thessaloniki, arepotential large demand sources for hydrogen. In addition, according to
the recently developed Master Plan for the decarbonisation of the lignite
production area of Western Macedonia, there is the large potential ofhydrogen production in the region This potential stems from the expected
deployment of large scale PV plants, along with the potential for the useof hydrogen locally or its transportation through the new hydrogen-readypipeline DESFA is deploying in the region. At the same time, several energy
players in the country are planning their actions towards the productionof green hydrogen, enhancing the efforts towards the “greening” of the
Greek energy sector. The cluster project “White Dragon”, along with similar
projects that propose hydrogen production, stands today as the first step tomake hydrogen volumes a reality in the country.
It is obvious that a Hydrogen Backbone will be needed to reconcile
substantial differences in hydrogen supply potential and hydrogen
demand across the country. The backbone will also serve to connect thenational hydrogen system to neighbouring regions, thus providing securityof supply and market integration.

26 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

By 2035, Greece’s main industrial clusters in Athens, Corinth and
Thessaloniki would be connected, with new dedicated hydrogenpipelines following the existing natural gas route. The potential hydrogencluster in West Macedonia will also be connected to Thessaloniki,near the existing connection to TAP, through the new, hydrogen-readypipeline in the region, which is currently under development. Storage
could be available in the form of an aquifer near the Island of Thasos.
This dedicated hydrogen pipeline will offer the opportunity to potential
large hydrogen consumers across the country (e.g., refineries, chemicalindustries, etc.) to have access in their required volumes of greenhydrogen. Apart from industry, the biggest hydrogen potential, in termsof end-user perspective, is expected to be the transportation sector, andmore specifically heavy-duty vehicles and trains.
By 2040, the dedicated hydrogen pipeline could be interconnectedwith adjacent systems, so that hydrogen can flow from Greece towards
South-East, South-West and Central Europe. As TAP will be directly
connected with our system, there will be interconnectivity with the
Italian transmission system and subsequently with Central Europe, where
significant pure hydrogen demand is foreseen. At the same time, theinterconnection Greece to North Macedonia, and from there to Kosovo,
will be hydrogen ready for future use. Finally, ports in the vicinity of thepipeline, with future import infrastructure for hydrogen (or any forms ofit), could also be connected.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Hungary

FGSZ, Hungary’s gas grid
operator, operates a mature
network of 5,874 km. The
network is partially for domesticuse, while playing a recently
changed transit role from
Ukraine to south-eastern Europe.
The flows reversed partially anddecreased slightly with openingof the LNG terminal on the
Croatian island Krk in 2021 andwith the gradual opening of the
new Balkan routes. Therefore,
part of the network might become available at an early stage to be
repurposed for green hydrogen transport from Ukraine into the coalbased regions in south-eastern Europe and to the West via Slovenia.
Hungary has set a carbon neutrality target for 2050 and targets 6 GW
of Solar PV to be installed by 2030. The solar PV potential sits mainly inthe south and could lead to variable oversupply of renewable energy,
especially if the second nuclear plant in Hungary materialises andoperates in parallel with the current nuclear power plant. The current
nuclear power plant will be phased out a couple of years after the startof the new plant.

By 2030, changing gas flows open up part of the network to be
repurposed for hydrogen transport. This could already mean the
repurposing of the interconnector with Ukraine which would connect the
Hungarian market to the large hydrogen potential supply from Ukraine.
The rest of the network connects several industrial customers in thechemical and fertiliser sector.
If there will be enough hydrogen production by 2035, Hungary could
already have a mature - mostly repurposed - hydrogen network with
now in total 7 interconnections to Ukraine, Austria, Slovakia, Serbia,
Romania , Croatia and a new one with Slovenia. This would connect all
Hungary’s neighbouring countries and the mostly coal based nations insouth-eastern Europe to Ukrainian hydrogen, effectively making Hungary
a green hydrogen transit country enabling the decarbonization of heavy
industry in south-eastern Europe and the transition away from coal.
Interconnections to Slovenia and Austria would already by 2035 connect
the energy systems of south-eastern Europe and North-western Europe.
By 2040, the interconnection to Slovenia could increase the market
liquidity and security of supply of hydrogen from the direction of theNorthern Africa - Italy route.

IrelandGas Networks Ireland (GNI)
operates a network in Irelandof 2,477 km of transmission
pipelines and 12,044 km of
distribution and 2 subsea
interconnectors from Moffat
in Great Britain to just north of
Dublin on Ireland’s east coast.
Ireland has 30GW of offshore
wind projects already in thepipeline and plans 5GW²⁰ of
offshore wind to be operationalby 2030. Large amounts ofintermittent offshore wind production, particularly off the Atlantic west
coast could result in electricity grid congestion and curtailment for acountry of Irelands’ scale. Green hydrogen production and integration
with the gas network could provide a way to maximise Irelands windenergy potential, as a store of energy, as an alternative to importedhydrogen and potentially in peak production periods enabling hydrogen
export. While scale hydrogen from offshore wind in Ireland is stilldeveloping, Ireland could import hydrogen, initially for the power sector
providing zero carbon support to intermittent renewables and later fortransport, industry and heating. This could be achieved mainly throughrepurposed existing gas pipeline network, and possibly some new
bespoke hydrogen pipelines.

27 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

By 2035, a hydrogen “valley” network could emerge around the cityof Cork, on Irelands’ south coast. Supply resilience for this mainly
green hydrogen cluster would be assured with supplementary importedhydrogen which could be either tanker or interconnector sourced(via a hydrogen pipeline direct to the continent). By 2040, one of the
2 Moffat interconnectors from the UK could be converted for 100%hydrogen transport and some relatively small-scale reconfigurationof the Dublin gas transmission network could enable local, scale,hydrogen – fired power generation. The other Moffat interconnector
could sustain resilient supply to the remaining unconverted network, it
no longer having to serve the Cork cluster and Dublin power generationloads. Development of these dedicated hydrogen networks provide foraccommodation of and ready market access for scale green hydrogenand could create the potential for future (through the 2040’s) extended
gas network conversion to hydrogen, hydrogen consumption forresidential heating and industry and ultimately green hydrogen export toGreat Britain or beyond.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Italy
Snam owns and operates the
National Transmission System
in Italy, with over 32.500 km oftransportation network in use
and 17 bcm of storage capacity.
The Italian guidelines for thenational hydrogen strategy
foresee that by 2030 hydrogen
could make up 2% of Italy’s final
energy demand. This demand
will be mainly concentrated inindustrial clusters located in
the North and in some areasof the South. The Italian national backbone will connect these clusters
with green production facilities in the Centre and South and blue
production facilities that may emerge in the North. There is also thepossibility of tapping into additional renewable capacity at favourable
cost from North Africa. The extended infrastructure will help the country
in meeting the target set by the national strategy and deliver green andlow carbon hydrogen to industrial clusters in the North of the country(Pianura Padana) and drive the creation of other hydrogen valleys in theSouth (Sicily, Puglia). Most of these developments will likely happen in
conjunction with a switch from fossil sources to hydrogen, thus allowing
the use retrofitted existing natural gas pipelines and pivoting on theavailability of parallel routes. As the industry scales up and costs fall, thegrid will be extended in order to connect with other markets (Austria,
Germany, Eastern Europe) and maximize the corridor role Italy may playin supplying Europe with cost-competitive green hydrogen coming from
North Africa.

By 2030, The Italian backbone may stretch from Sicily till the hydrogenvalley of Emilia Romagna supporting an accelerated development ofhydrogen in the country as indicated by the Guidelines on the Italian
National Hydrogen Strategy. These developments will be coupled withthe potential to import hydrogen from Tunisia, fully exploiting the costadvantage of solar production and land availability in Northern Africa.
Most of these developments will consist of repurposed natural gas
pipelines as a result of the availability of parallel routes. Hydrogen could
potentially be transported both from North Africa and from injection
points in Southern Italy to industrial clusters in the South and potentiallyintegrating the blue production in the North that could serve industrial
uses in the area. The connection to Austria could allow hydrogenfrom North Africa to be used in Northern Europe, provided that gas
consumption would be gradually replaced by hydrogen and gas securityof supply and balancing needs were guaranteed. On the Eastern side,
the interconnection to Slovenia connects two large potential supply
regions - Ukraine and North Africa. By 2040, an interconnection to
Switzerland could be added to provide another connection to NorthWestern Europe.

LatviaJSC Conexus Baltic Grid is thenational unified natural gas
transmission system and storage
operator in Latvia, managing
1190 km long gas pipeline
connection system which directly
connects the Latvian natural gas
market with Lithuania, Estonia,
and the northwest region of
Russia and one of the mostmodern natural gas storage
facilities in Europe - Inčukalns
underground gas storage, whichis also the only gas storage facility in the Baltic States.

Current gas system is underutilised. There are some possibilities topotentially repurpose existing gas transmission and storage infrastructure,
but also new pipelines will need to be built, to adjust the gas system tohigher hydrogen blend or pure hydrogen.

Latvia has not yet developed a hydrogen strategy, there is also no
official vision regarding hydrogen development published. National
Climate and Energy Plan covering 2021-2030 does not include specificobjectives or targets for the production or use of hydrogen, norhydrogen specific policies and measures. Hydrogen applications are
considered as a long-term perspective.

Potentially in the upcoming decade, energy transition projects, suchas Power-to-Gas (hydrogen or synthetic methane) could be developedin Latvia, based on hydrogen related national policy framework
development. Hydrogen production and infrastructure development
could potentially help develop new industries in the future.

The energy systems of the Baltic states and Finland is already very
interconnected, therefore looking at the EHB prom a more area-wide
point of view makes most sense.

28 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Latvia has an underground natural gas storage (an aquifer), the only
gas storage in Baltic States with active gas capacity 2.3 bcm, that could
potentially be used in the future for hydrogen storage, after appropriate
research and technical adjustments. The gas TSOs of Estonia, Finland,
Latvia, and Lithuania in 2021 has already started preparation of researchand development study of technical capabilities for injection andtransportation of hydrogen in gas grid, study is expected to be finishedin 2024 and the results will be used to decide on further hydrogen
infrastructure development.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Lithuania
Amber Grid is the operator of
the Lithuanian gas transmission
system. Company operates
2285 km of high-pressure
gas pipelines, gas distribution
stations, 2 gas compressor
stations. Amber Grid system isconnected to gas transmission
systems of 4 other countries andthe Klaipeda LNG terminal.
Lithuania's climate change
mitigation policy goal until
2050 is to reduce greenhousegas emissions by at least 80%. Green hydrogen energy will help tobalance energy system and replace fossil fuels in the future. Adaptationof gas transportation system and construction of infrastructure for thetransportation of pure hydrogen is one of the measures envisaged toenable the transportation of hydrogen from its production sites in theregion to consumption sites, both domestically and for import and exportin the future. Fertilizer producers, oil refining and transport sectors are
expected to be the main consumers of hydrogen in Lithuania.

Lithuania together with the Baltic Region is named as a potential region
for the development of surplus wind energy. That creates preconditions
for the development of the market of green hydrogen. Adaptation ofexisting infrastructure and creation of new energy transmission corridors
are becoming particularly important. It is expected that the Lithuanianpure hydrogen network, will mostly consist of natural gas pipelines
adapted for the transportation of hydrogen. This infrastructure will
stimulate the development of RES hydrogen production capacity.
According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Energy, Lithuania’s
renewable electricity generation capacity will significantly increase in
2025, exceeding the peak demand of the country (2500 MW). The
capacity of onshore wind farms will reach 1800 MW, solar power willreach 1000 MW and offshore wind power will reach 700 MW in 2028.
These renewable electricity capacities will even be doubled by 2030.
Part of the surplus renewable electricity will be used for production ofpure hydrogen and will enable development of the pure hydrogen grid.
As of 2030 a demand for hydrogen is expected in the Lithuanianfertilizer production sector. Main consumption will take place in thecentral part of the country, where the hydrogen grid will be built (oradapted) first. Later, it is planned to connect the oil refinery in the northwest of Lithuania. Also, it is planned to connect the western and centralhydrogen corridors of the country, as well as to connect the hydrogen
networks with Latvian and Polish hydrogen networks, creating a regionalhydrogen corridor connecting Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian andPolish grids.

Luxembourg
Creos Luxembourg, anelectricity and gas transmission
and distribution system operator,
operates a gas network of
2.175 km with interconnections
to the Belgian, French andGerman gas system. The
Luxembourg gas network
supplies industrial customers
located mainly in the southof Luxembourg as well as
residential customers.
In the longer term, apart fromthe expected development of hydrogen demand in Luxembourg mainly
for the needs of industry, transport and the heating sector, Luxembourg
could also serve as transit country for hydrogen and thus accelerate thedecarbonization of the energy sector.

29 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

In the medium term, priority is put on the potential hydrogen supply ofindustrial clusters connected to a cross-border hydrogen infrastructure.
By 2040 a full connection to the European hydrogen backbone via
Belgium and Germany can be envisaged, requiring a new pipeline
between the Belgian and German hydrogen networks at Bras
respectively to the MosaHyc project near Remich. Another option
might be the repurposing of an existing pipeline if the operation of an
existing gas interconnection would no longer be justified for the supply
of existing gas customers. The Luxembourgish hydrogen network could
potentially be used for transit flows.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Netherlands
In the Netherlands,
infrastructurecompany Gasunie
operates and owns
a gas networkof approximately
11,700 kilometres.
On June 2021
Gasunie received
a formal mandate
from the Ministryof Economic
Affairs and Climate
Policy to develop a national hydrogen transport network;the ‘Dutch hydrogen backbone’. The accompanying
Hyway27 study showed that this network will consist of
mostly repurposed existing gas pipelines as these become
available due to declining demand for natural gas. Thisbackbone could be in place as early as 2027. The Ministryof Economic Affairs and Climate Policy is currently
analysing the exact roll-out (phasing) of the backbone.
Thanks to this hydrogen infrastructure, the Netherlands andnorthern Germany can be the market leaders in Europe
for the global hydrogen market, just as they are now for
natural gas. This hydrogen ‘backbone’ connects the fivelarge industrial hubs with each other, with storage and with
import/export options. This will enable major companies
to wean themselves off natural gas, massively reduce theircarbon footprint and maintain jobs, their export strengthand innovation capacity for the Dutch economy.

30 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

By making maximum use of the existing natural gas transport infrastructure, thenational hydrogen backbone can have a capacity of approximately 10-15GW by2030. The national hydrogen transport network will be developed in phases,
following and facilitating the hydrogen market development. The aim is to connect theRotterdam-Rijnmond region with the area ‘Noordzeekanaalgebied’ (steel-production)and the Northern Netherlands first. With this first step, these regions will also gain
access to underground hydrogen storage at Zuidwending and to Germany. The
Schelde-Delta region, including a connection with Belgium, will also be developed
at an early stage, but might be able to function as a stand-alone cluster in the firstyear after development. The connection of the Schelde-Delta region to the otheraforementioned clusters will follow next, after which the network-connection towards
and in the province of Limburg will be developed. The “ring” will be completed
by 2030, but Gasunie emphasises that connections to storage and neighbouring
countries for all clusters are possible at an earlier stage (2027). Moreover, Gasunie
is investigating the connection of industries that are not situated in one of the majorindustrial clusters. Gasunie and partners will also be working together to develop
the ACE ammonia import terminal. The terminal will operate on the Maasvlakte near
Rotterdam and will include an installation for converting ammonia into hydrogento supply future Northwestern European hydrogen demand. It will also supply
ammonia directly to amongst others the fertiliser industry. Work on the basic designof the import terminal will start in Q2 2022, and it will be operational from 2026,
connecting to the ‘Dutch hydrogen backbone’ that can serve the future hydrogenmarket in Northwestern Europe. Furthermore, by mutually aligning plans for hydrogentransport and storage, joint Dutch and northern German hydrogen infrastructure isvery much a possibility, for example the Hyperlink project in Germany. Gasunie isalso involved in the German offshore hydrogen infrastructure initiative AquaVentus,
which aims to construct Germany’s first offshore hydrogen backbone in the North
Sea, with possibilities to connect to Dutch, Danish and Norwegian hydrogen
infrastructure. Additionally, renewable hydrogen will be used to integrate large
amounts of offshore wind energy, particularly in the north of the Netherlands andGermany. More than 180 GWs of offshore wind will be built by 2050 in the North
Sea, which will create challenges to integrate this into the energy system. This
integration can be economically done by an internationally coordinated development
plan of energy hubs, including off- and onshore ‘power to hydrogen’, as well as
system integration between the power- and hydrogen network. A vital role is foreseen
for hydrogen to integrate the large amounts of energy into the system and provide
seasonal storage. This hydrogen network is also expected to become crucial tostabilise the power grid with new hydrogen fired power plants.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

NorwayGassco is theindependent
system operator(ISO) for the
integrated system
for transportinggas from theNorwegiancontinental shelf
to other European
countries. Thisgas transportsystem consists of
9000 km of subsea pipelines, 3 gas processing plants in
Norway, offshore platforms and receiving terminals in the
UK, France, Belgium and Germany. Gassco’s operatorshipconfers overall responsibility for running the infrastructure
on behalf of the owners to ensure safe and efficientgas transport to millions of people. Gassco is also thearchitect for developing the future gas infrastructure on the
Norwegian continental shelf.

The pipeline system operated by Gassco transports natural gas from NCS throughthree large processing plants on the west coast of Norway to Germany, Belgium,
France and UK. The potential for hydrogen production from natural gas and fromrenewable power sources is being studied for all three Norwegian processing plants.
By 2030, Norwegian hydrogen production could be in the order of 2-3 GW, further
ramping up to 10-15 GW by 2040. Gassco is investigating export solutions for theseproduction volumes and is assessing development of new dedicated hydrogenpipelines, conversion of existing natural gas pipelines, as well as a combination of
new and existing pipelines. Blending of hydrogen into the natural gas export stream
is also part of the study work.
In 2030, based on available system capacity, one of the export pipelines downstream
the riser platforms Draupner or Sleipner could be repurposed to hydrogen transport.
This could for instance be the Europipe pipeline from Draupner to Germany, but
the other export pipelines, Zeepipe, Franpipe and Langeled South are also relevant
depending on the market for hydrogen. Pipelines upstream Sleipner and Draupnerwill not be available for dedicated hydrogen transport until after 2035. Transport ofpure hydrogen in 2030 would require a combination of existing and new pipelines toestablish an export route from Norway to Europe.
A new pipeline, for instance from Norway to the Netherlands, is also an option,
however this would have to be sized for volumes expected in 2040. Blending ofhydrogen into the natural gas export stream could also be another option to allow
usage of the existing natural gas pipelines from 2030.
Green hydrogen from offshore wind energy hubs can complement blue hydrogen
supply in 2035, and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs could become available forhydrogen storage between 2030 and 2040. In 2040, based on current gas market
forecasts, another export route from Norway, for instance to Great Britain, could beenvisaged by repurposing the Langeled South natural gas pipeline.

31 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

PolandPoland’s trans­mission system
operator GAZSYSTEM operates
a large andincreasing networkof over 11 000 km
of gas pipelines,
connecting toGermany, theCzech Republic,
Belarus, Ukraine
and in the end of2022 also Denmark, Slovakia and Lithuania, to accelerate
the switch from coal to gas, foster competition, market
integration and ensure security of supply. Natural gas andits infrastructure will play a pivotal role in the Polish energy
transformation by contributing to emission reduction by
allowing a switch away from coal. An increase in gas
demand is expected until the 2030s. Poland has recently
published Polish Hydrogen Strategy aiming for 2 GW of
installed electrolyser capacity by 2030. Moreover, thePolish government has also published ambitious offshore
wind capacity targets of 5.9 GW by 2030 and 11 GW by2040. The Polish Hydrogen Strategy indicates the needto build a hydrogen highway, which in its main objectives
is to connect the north with the south and the emerging
hydrogen valleys. Poland is the third European country interms of current hydrogen demand (1 million tons), mainly
located in the industry in the South plus industrial clusters
across the country. A hydrogen backbone in Poland
would be crucial to transport energy produced offshorein the North to the demand regions in the South and otherconsumption centres, while also opening the possibilityof green hydrogen imports from Scandinavian wind anddecarbonise hard-to-abate heavy industry. Import fromother directions such as Ukraine, could be considered,once production ramps up. However, due to the specificity
the Polish energy transition, it is important to bear in mind
a certain fluidity concerning the timeframes.

A possible scenario assumes that the initial hydrogen network in Poland will beformed around 2035mainly around offshore wind energy potential in the Northand industrial clusters in its vicinity (Pomorskie voivodship), as well as the centre(Kujawsko-Pomorskie and Mazowieckie voivodship). In addition, the potential of anunderground storage facility - the Damasławek Project - is expected to be significantly
exploited at this time. This storage facility is based on a system of salt caverns andmakes it possible to store energy from wind at sea and use it later during periods of
low wind speed. This makes it an important alternative to gas or even coal peaker
power plants. The Damasławek project will play an important role in linking industrial
clusters and planned hydrogen valleys.
In this perspective also a transit connection between Finland and the Baltic States
via Poland to Germany may be implemented. This is strictly connected with a paceof H ₂ production potential in these countries and the demand level in Germany,
as well as ability to create a feasible financing structure (relevant tariff scheme,
long term commitments, etc.) for such size infrastructure project. Implementationof this transit connection would allow to integrate the emerging Polish hydrogen
network, in particular UGS Damasławek, with the rest of Europe. In case that the very
promising forecasts of hydrogen supply from the direction of Finland via the Baltic
States would materialize, the construction of a dedicated hydrogen transit link toGermany in parallel to the gas interconnection GIPL (currently under construction)
might be justified. Since the Polish Hydrogen Strategy provides for verification of its
assumptions in 2025, it will then be possible to make preliminary verification of thededicated hydrogen interconnection plan with Lithuania assuming a transit connection
with Germany in order to enable a transfer of hydrogen from Finland to Germany
about 2035.
After 2040, all planned Polish industrial clusters (Hydrogen Valleys) are to beconnected, and a north-south connection would complete the integration of large
amounts of renewable energy in the north from offshore wind, as well as potential
imports from Scandinavia (via Baltic Pipe) and the Baltic States via GIPL that would be
repurposed. Additionally, around 2040 there may be a possibility of repurposing asection of the gas pipeline connecting the FSRU in the Gulf of Gdansk with the rest of
the planned infrastructure (North-South corridor). This gives flexibility in the form ofusing hydrogen supplies delivered by sea (with favourable market conditions possible
replacement of the Floating Storage Regasification Unit).
The development of the internal H ₂ transmission system after 2040 (as wellas interconnections), is associated with the forecasted increase of hydrogenconsumption in Poland that may lead to becoming a H ₂ net consumer. Suchmarket circumstances would create the potential need for repurposing of theinterconnections (GIPL, Baltic Pipe) and creating new ones, i.e., Poland – Czechia
interconnections. Moreover, the increasing demand for hydrogen in Western Europe,in particular in Germany is expected to be a reason for implementing the second
transit infrastructure corridor via Poland, i.e., from Ukraine to Germany. Finally, in theperspective of 2040+, it is possible to create a mature H ₂ infrastructure giving thepossibility of connecting Poland, additionally, with the Czech Republic, Ukraine andDenmark / Sweden These infrastructure developments would contribute very much to
the role of Poland as a real integrator of the regional hydrogen market.
Since repurposing of existing network is not always an option due to increasing
demand for natural gas in Poland, technical constraints and the age of existing
pipelines, the development of the H ₂ transmission system in Poland will consists alsoof the newly built infrastructure.
It should be noticed that an important factor to consider for a hydrogen network in
Poland is the currently growing consumption of natural gas, which will still requirea significant portion of the Polish transmission system by 2040. Any repurposing/reconstruction solution will be carefully evaluated on a case-by-case basis due to thetechnical limitations and heterogeneity of the existing network. The analysis of suchpotential in the material area has already been started by GAZ-SYSTEM - mapping of
the potential, analysis of the transmission system itself and its possible cooperation
with hydrogen is underway.

32 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Portugal (REN)
REN - Redes Energéticas
Nacionais, owns, under aregulated concession, andoperates assets in two major
business areas:– The transmission in very highvoltage electricity and overall
technical management of the
National Electricity System;– The transmission of highpressure gas and overall
technical management of the
National Gas System, the reception, storage and regasification of
LNG, at Sines Terminal and the underground storage at Carriço Salt
Caverns UGS
Additionally, besides a business area in telecommunications and asashareholder in some international utilities businesses, REN owns
Portgás, which focuses its activity on the development and exploitationof the largest natural gas distribution network in the north coast of
Portugal (about 5,493 kilometres).
Regarding the national public policy status, the Portuguese government
has developed a national roadmap for Hydrogen (EN-H2) deployment
as a key element of the energy transition towards carbon neutrality andfocusing on achieving around 2GW of installed capacity, as well as todecarbonise industry and to inject up to 15% of Hydrogen in natural
gas system. Additionally, Portugal has published legislation to convert
the previous natural gas system to a Gas System, assuming that theassets must accommodate increasingly mixtures of renewable gases andnatural gas, converging to the development of 100% Hydrogen system.
At the first stage (until 2030), it is expected that Hydrogen will betransported cross-country in current gas infrastructure, blended
with natural gas. Integrated (transmission, compression and storage)
dedicated Hydrogen systems (Hydrogen valleys) are also expected to
be developed in the main Portuguese industrial clusters, namely in the
North (large amount of chemical industry – where is already symbiotic)
and in the South (Refinery, chemical and fuels).
Further conversion for 100% Hydrogen of current natural gas grid
pipelines will be developed at a later stage depending on H₂ market
evolution. The in-between scenario would consist of some areas witha 100% Hydrogen network, while the remaining will have Hydrogen
blended with natural gas.
In a future with 100% Hydrogen, a large part of the natural gas network
will be repurposed.
Portugal has also a storage potential (salt caverns) at the cross-sectionof the two main current natural gas backbone lines, which can be scaled
up for Hydrogen storage.

33 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

By 2030, at least up to two dedicated industrial clusters (at North andSouth of the country) could be supplied by dedicated 100% Hydrogenclosed loop integrated network systems with a length of around 20 km.
At this stage, REN expects further developments in blending demand
to foster the Hydrogen accommodation in gas grid and to promote thedecarbonisation of gas system (up to 15% of blended Hydrogen, in
2030 horizon).
From there the next step is to gradually switch the existing network toa fully 100% hydrogen network, coping with the Hydrogen and gas
demand in Portugal. Hydrogen and natural gas demand evolution will be
critical for this process, as the fully switch from natural gas to Hydrogen,would require adaptation and investments on the utilization side.
From 2035 onwards, it is expected Portugal could receive and sharehydrogen, through the northern IP connection to the Spanish Grid,by repurposing the actual gas transmission grid, depending on thedevelopment of the Spanish Hydrogen network .
From 2040 onwards, hydrogen import/export would also be possible
through the east-west gas repurposed gas pipeline, considering theregion existing good renewable hydrogen production potential.
By 2040, it is expected that approximately 40-50% of the grid could be
repurposed and operated with 100% Hydrogen.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Romania
SNTGN Transgaz SA, as theoperator of the National Gas
Transmission System (NTS) is
preoccupied with the potential
of integrating hydrogen fromrenewable and low-carbon
sources into the natural gas
transmission system in order tocomply with the provisions of theapplicable European directives
and the European Green Deal.
In recent years, hydrogenhas become an increasingly
attractive candidate for decarbonising the energy sector in line with theEU’s climate targets. The EU Hydrogen strategy and the recent draft ofHydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Package set out a new agenda forclean energy investments.
Hydrogen can support the decarbonisation of industry, transport, power
generation and buildings across Europe. To ensure that hydrogen isdeveloped to its full potential, there must be a defined perspective
towards the development of a well-interconnected European hydrogenmarket over time.

Underlining the importance of establishing a national strategy onhydrogen, a strategy for the implementation of the European Green
Deal, in the current European and national context, at SNTGNTransgaz SA level, the sustainable development strategy of the NTS
for the coming years requires a resetting of objectives, a reshapingof the development model so that it allows the implementation of theprovisions of the Green Deal. Thus, in order to create the "backbone"of the hydrogen transmission system in Romania, the need to repurpose
several strategic transmission corridors as shown on the map has been
identified.
In this respect, in 2030 Romania can be interconnected with Hungary,
Bulgaria via the current BRUA corridor whereas another connection isenvisaged with Republic of Moldova in north-eastern Romania.
By 2035, in south-east Romania the Trans Balkan pipeline will stretch
from the Ukrainian border to the Bulgarian border, while in north, ahydrogen pipeline will stretch from the existing UA/RO IP to central
Romania, insuring in this way potential hydrogen import/export routes.
All these pipelines as well as BRUA corridor are interconnected via thecentral hydrogen backbone.
In western Romania, the interconnection with Serbia is also envisaged
for 100 % hydrogen use.

Large-scale hydrogen consumption will require a well-developedhydrogen transport infrastructure based on a “European Hydrogen
Backbone”: a vision for a truly European approach, connecting hydrogen
demand with supply from North to South and West to East. The
proposed Romanian Hydrogen backbone contributes to this purpose.

Slovakia
EUSTREAM’s transmission
system in Slovakia represents animportant east-west and northsouth energy connection. A
robust system of 4 to 5 parallel
pipelines is connected to theprimary transmission routes in
Ukraine, Hungary, Austria andCzech Republic (a new gas
interconnector with Poland will
be commissioned soon).
Today, Slovakia is mainly a transit
country for natural gas. In the
future, a similar role is foreseen for large amounts of green hydrogen.
EUSTREAM’s system lies between the anticipated hydrogen productions
centers in the CEE, including Ukraine, and the consumption in Germany
and other Western European countries. Its unique geographical positionand developed infrastructure makes it well positioned to become an
important hydrogen entry gate for European markets.
To connect future markets with production centers, EUSTREAM plans
to dedicate one or more of its main transit pipelines only for transportof 100% hydrogen. The modernized corridor of parallel pipelines willallow the combined transport of natural gas and pure hydrogen as soon
as there is enough new hydrogen production capacities operational.
The large diameter pipelines would provide a cost-efficient way oftransporting hydrogen in the east-west direction as well as facilitatehydrogen flows from south further towards Czech Republic and Germany.

34 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

By 2030 the Slovak connection between Austria and Czech Republic
could be repurposed to supply hydrogen from North Africa further
towards consumption centers through interconnection points
Baumgarten and Lazhot. By 2035, Eustream intends to repurpose oneof its large diameter pipelines from Ukraine in the East to the Austrianand Czech networks in the West. In the beginning with green hydrogen
flows still picking up, the lower capacity of hydrogen flowing the
repurposed network would also serve the currently coal-based steel
industry and chemical industry in Slovakia. Repurposed interconnections
to Hungary and Poland would connect another multiple markets andprovide higher security of supply as of 2035.

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

Slovenia
Plinovodi, the TSO of Slovenia,
operates a network of 1,195
km, for domestic use while also
playing a transit role from Austria
to Croatia and Italy. For bothusing a doubled main backbone
from its capital Ljubljana into theeast which then stretches north
into GCA’s and TAG network inAustria. With the LNG terminal
in Croatia on the Krk Island, up
and running since the beginningof 2021, the new plannedinterconnection with Hungary and other changes, the transit role willchange. As a result, one of the pipelines of the main backbone could
be repurposed for hydrogen. Slovenia has nuclear energy and Solar
PV installation is expected to increase. About one third of its electricity
comes from coal. The coal fired power plant could be replaced in
the future by a gas-fired power plant, thus providing another possible
opportunity for the hydrogen. A hydrogen network could be used toserve industry users and power plants with available green hydrogen
via Austrian and FGSZ’s network or with North African green hydrogen
via SNAM's network, as well as from domestic production. While thehydrogen network could also play a transit role, connecting sources ofdemand and supply, and integrating the energy systems in Italy, Austria,
Hungary and Croatia.

By 2035, a regional backbone could emerge. The current main gas
pipeline is doubled and together with the changing gas flows due
to changes on energy markets, new interconnection with Hungary,and upgrade of connection with Croatia, it enables the repurposingof parallel natural gas pipelines. Thus, the domestic production
and consumption can be connected. There would be hydrogeninterconnections from Slovenia to Hungary and Italy which connects
the national hydrogen markets, but also major green hydrogen supply
sources (e.g., North Africa). The connection to Austria and Croatia
would ensure that the European Hydrogen Backbone becomes anintegrated hydrogen network stretching from South-Eastern to NorthEastern Europe.

Spain
Enagás operates an extensivegas transmission network in
Spain that comprises over
11,000 km of gas pipelines. This
network has six international
connections: two with Africa
via Tarifa and Almeria (linking
with the Magreb and Medgaz
gas pipelines, respectively);
two with Portugal via Badajoz
and Tuy; and another two withFrance via Irun and Larrau. The
Spanish Hydrogen Roadmap
recognises that renewable hydrogen is a key sustainable solution forthe decarbonisation and the development of a high value-added green
economy. For 2030, the strategy foresees an installed capacity of 4 GW
electrolysers and a series of milestones in the industrial, mobility andelectricity sectors. The hydrogen pipeline network in Spain is based ona high-level analysis and it would enable the coexistence of both natural
gas and hydrogen for a defined period, optimising the use of current
infrastructure to serve potential demand in industry and guaranteeing
security of supply. At the same time the backbone aims to harness thesignificant potential of Spain´s solar PV and onshore wind resources,
which could enable the exportation of green hydrogen to other
European countries. Hereby, also ensuring the role of Spain as a transit
country, with pipeline infrastructure to transport low cost hydrogenproduced in North Africa to demand centres in Western Europe.

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By 2030, industrial clusters within reach of the proposed parallel
network and therefore relevant for initial development of the backbone
are along the Mediterranean coast and in the center and north ofthe peninsula. Later, the development of the network will guarantee
cohesion between the different demand regions, also integrating themultiple supply points that will be distributed across the geography.
Spain’s long-term ambition is to be one of the main hydrogen suppliersin Europe, building on its significant large-scale solar PV and wind andhybrid potential to produce green hydrogen. The national backbone will
enable this by connecting to France through the existing connections
by Larrau (2035) and Irún (2040) and creating a new route throughCatalonia by 2040. Connections to North Africa can be made from2035 to complement supply with imports from the south to cover
the demand in Central Europe. With Portugal, it is also planned torepurpose the current connections of Tuy (2035) and Badajoz (2040).

Country / BackgroundHydrogen infrastructure development

SwedenThe Swedish climate target isto reach net-zero emissions ofgreenhouse gases by 2045. To
reach this goal, reliable supply,and use of low-cost, greenhydrogen in industry and heavyduty vehicles is pointed out as
key enabling solutions, but also
as a focus for new industrial
initiatives creating innovations,
new jobs and export. The
national hydrogen strategy,
presented by the Swedish
Energy Agency in Nov 2021, proposes planning goals of at least
5 GW and 15 GW installed electrolysis capacity by 2030 and 2045,
respectively. This alongside with the necessary build-out of renewableelectricity production (mainly on/offshore wind parks) and transmission
solutions. The creation of a regulation with a revenue framework forhydrogen pipelines is suggested to be in place by 2023.
The visionary and ambitious scenario of a dedicated hydrogen backbone
will support and accelerate the targeted decarbonisation and thedevelopment of the Swedish hydrogen economy, on the same time
as additional robustness to the entire energy system is obtained. The
backbone would aid the transmission of energy from north to south
creating a sustainable, flexible, and balanced energy system.

Nordion Energi has, together with Gasgrid Finland, started to jointly
develop a greenfield cross-border hydrogen infrastructure in the regionof Bothnian Bay (Nordic Hydrogen Route, https://nordichydrogenroute.
com/ ) with the target of having the network operational by 2030.
At about the same time, as a response to REPowerEU, an offshorehydrogen connection from the Bothnian Bay, across the Baltic Sea withpotentially multiple interconnections to the onshore hydrogen networks
in Sweden and Finland, to Central Europe is envisioned. The latterstrategically located to collect and enable export of potential excess ofoff-shore wind and green hydrogen production in the area.
By 2035, the southern backbone stretches further north not far fromthe Stockholm region of Sweden, linking industrial demand centres andcities in southern and central Sweden. Around this time, the southernand northern backbones connect, creating a hydrogen corridor acrossthe country, linking the backbones of Denmark, Sweden, and Finland to
the European hydrogen backbone. A new energy transmission networkfrom north to south would in this way be a reality.
By 2040, an additional interconnection (offshore) from Denmark could
emerge via the Kattegat Sea area, which would then be the fourth
possible interconnector for Sweden.

During the late 2020s, the Swedish backbone is envisaged to emerge on
the coastal regions in the south-west, mid-east and north of the country
in the form of regional hydrogen networks connecting hydrogen supply
with demand at transforming existing and new established processindustries (mining, steel, fertilizer, chemical and/or refinery, e-fuel).
Given the absence of parallel methane infrastructure available for
repurposing, dedicated hydrogen pipelines will have to be newly built.

Switzerland
FluxSwiss markets approximately
90% of the Transitgas pipeline
capacity connecting French,
German and Italian gas markets.
FluxSwiss offers capacity at thethree border points Wallbach,Oltingue and Passo Griess.
As part of the Fluxys Group,
FluxSwiss is ready to participate
in building the gas network of
the future. Switzerland aims to
restructure the Swiss energy
system by 2050. To do so a
significant increase in using renewable energy and reduction of energyrelated CO₂ emissions will be needed. In view of the above a hydrogenstrategy will be presented by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy by endof 2022.

36 / EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE

A large-scale hydrogen demand post 2030 is expected if the EU wants
to honour the Green Deal & Paris Agreement. The Transitgas pipeline
links North West Europe to South East Europe and is the shortest routefrom Italy to NW Europe. It is therefore an ideal partner to ensure thenecessary imports from outside Europe and more specifically from
North Africa, can reach its destination without capacity constraints on
the way. North Africa is considered to be one of the most promisingregions for the production of renewable hydrogen.
The exact timing for the development of H ₂ transmission infrastructure in
Switzerland will mainly depend on the development of the adjacent H ₂markets and the need for import/export between these markets.