Five hydrogen supply
corridors for Europe in 2030
Executive Summary

EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BACKBONE
MAY 2022

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY© 2022 European Hydrogen Backbone,
all rights reserved

Who we are& EHB Mission

2Who we are2021 Member States
New member

EHB Mission– Accelerate decarbonisationof the European energy
system– Define the critical role ofhydrogen infrastructure– Support developmentof a competitive and liquid
European hydrogen market– Foster cross-bordercollaboration between
Europe and its neighbors

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Europe’s accelerated 2030 climate targets
define an aggressive role for hydrogen
Europe has defined a bolder and more ambitioushydrogen target of 20 MT by 2030 in response to theRePowerEU plan to phase out Russian fossil fuel imports
well before 2030

32030 Hydrogen Targets
MT of hydrogen(TWh in brackets)

20(665 TWh)This includes a 10 MT target of domestic EU hydrogen
supply, as well as a 10 MT target of hydrogen imports
from outside the EU.¹
These targets are strengthened by accelerated
national climate ambitions as well as the accelerated
development of the European hydrogen market.
Note: This study’s underlying analysis was largely
completed prior to the publication of the detailed
RePowerEU plan and its 2030 hydrogen targets. As
such, this study’s supply and demand estimates were
not intended to align with the 20 MT target by 2030.

10(333 TWh)2010(333 TWh)

Domestic supply target

1

The RePowerEU target of 10 MT of imports includes 6 MT of renewable hydrogen and 4 MTof imported ammonia / derivatives.

Imports targets

Total 2030 Target

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY© 2022 European Hydrogen Backbone,
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The EHB initiative has identified sufficient hydrogen
supply to exceed the 2030 domestic targets
EHB identified 12 MT of domestic supply,
exceeding the RePowerEU domestic target
by 20% and supporting European energy
independence and security of supply.

2030 Target

We expect this demand estimate to increase
and accelerate further in response to theRePowerEU plan.
These supply and demand estimates represent
tangible and achievable projections basedon national targets, market developments andannounced projects, primarily prior to therelease of the RePowerEU plan.

2030 Hydrogen Supply ¹, ², ³, ⁴2030 Hydrogen Demand⁵

MT of hydrogen(TWh in brackets)

20(665 TWh)EHB also identified 5.4 MT of supply from
non-EU neighboring countries, for a total of17.4 MT of supply.
EHB also identified 14.7 MT of demand basedon a bottom-up assessment of demand by sector
and country.

45.4(180 TWh)
ImporttargetGreen imports(non-EHB)

1012(400 TWh)
BlueGreen
grid-based

Domestictarget

102030Hydrogen Target

1.1

Accelerated demand
due to RePowerEU

2.5
2.1
0.8

17.4 MT

3.2

Power& Buildings

2.2

Transport

3.6

14.7 MT(580 TWh)(490 TWh)Green
dedicatedIndustry

7.7

Domestic EU supply

Non-EU Supply+20%

higher than RePowerEU

1 EHB did not analyse ship imports of hydrogen or derivatives like ammonia and methanol. To meet the 20 MT target, an additional 2.6 MT of hydrogen or derivative imports would be needed.
2 The 5.4 MT of non-EU supply includes 2.5 MT (~80 TWh) of green hydrogen imports from non-EHB countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Ukraine), along with 2.1 MT of blue hydrogen and 0.8 MT of grid-based hydrogen from EHB, non-EU countries(the UK and Norway). Blue hydrogen potential, and its economic viability, is subject to the evolution of gas markets, regulations and the uncertainty of natural gas prices.
3 Estimates of national green hydrogen supply for European countries are based on projections of renewable energy scaling up above and beyond supply levels needed to meet electricity demand.
4 Other imports may include pipeline or ship imports from other regions not analysed in this study.
5 Demand includes all EU countries and the UK and Norway. Demand estimates do not include domestic EU consumption of ammonia for shipping or other derivates. For comparison, RePowerEU considered 4 MT of demand for ammonia and other derivatives.

8.9

Demand identified
by EHBEXECUTIVE SUMMARY© 2022 European Hydrogen Backbone,
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Regional differences in supply and demand show theimportance of connecting regions across Europe
Across different regions in Europe, there are significantdifferences in the hydrogen supply-demand balance.
Some regions are characterised by a net supply of lowcost, hydrogen resources. These regions benefit fromvast renewable energy potential, high capacity factors andsubstantial land availability.

(TWh)¹, ², ³

127

502

/ Supply (2030/2040)/ Demand (2030/2040)

81

2030

171

2040

257
135

65

2030

Hydrogen pipeline infrastructure can bridge theseregional supply-demand differences across Europe in a
cost-effective manner.

727
2040

287
197
82

The EHB vision delivers the infrastructure neededto connect hydrogen supply and demand acrossEurope.

2030

438

179

2040

30 37273

129

2030

84

2030
Aggregated demand and supply are based on the 2030 figures determined in this study. Supply figures
include imports from North Africa and Ukraine. Note: Demand and supply figures may increase further in
response to more ambitious national policies and measures following the RePowerEU plan.
2 This analysis estimates ~490 TWh of demand and ~580 TWh of supply in 2030 and does not attempt todetermine how hydrogen supply and demand will balance out across Europe, nor which hydrogen supply
sources – or from which regions – will be used to meet demand.
3 Demand and supply figures may not align with figures presented in the rest of the report based on
aggregation of countries into regions and due to rounding.

255

Regional Supply and Demand,
2030 and 2040

Other regions will require hydrogen imports from other
European or neighboring regions to meet their hydrogendemand.

15216

2040

77

26

2030

102
2040

113

2040

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY© 2022 European Hydrogen Backbone,
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Five supply corridors are key to the EHB vision and can deliver
access to abundant and low-cost hydrogen supply by 20306D

To deliver the 2030 hydrogen demand targets set by theRePowerEU plan, five large-scale pipeline corridors are envisaged.
The corridors will initially connect local supply and demand indifferent parts of Europe, before expanding and connecting Europe
with neighboring regions with export potential.

OsloC

Certainty about the deployment of this infrastructure will enable
market actors to develop supply and demand more rapidly– Corridor B: Southwest Europe & North Africa

TalinnStockholm

Göteborg
Riga

Edinburgh

Copenhagen

Hamburg

Manchester
DublinBerlinRotterdam

CorkLondonWarsaw
CologneLeipzig– Corridor D: Nordic and Baltic regions

ParisKrakow

PragueFrankfurt– Corridor C: North Sea

MunichViennaBratislava
Budapest– Corridor E: East and South-East Europe

Ljubljana

Lyon

Milan
VeniceBordeaux

These five corridors span across both domestic and importsupply markets, consistent with the three import corridors
identified by the RePowerEU plan, including a corridor via
the Mediterranean (Corridors A and B), via the North Sea(Corridor C) and via Ukraine (Corridor E)

Vilnius

Gdansk

The five hydrogen supply corridors are:– Corridor A: North Africa & Southern Europe

Helsinki

Bucharest

BilbaoMarseille
PortoMadrid

B

RomeBarcelona

Valencia

LisbonAlmeria
TarifaESoﬁaA

PalermoAthensEXECUTIVE SUMMARY© 2022 European Hydrogen Backbone,
all rights reserved

These five corridors represent the collective vision of the31 gas infrastructure companies part of the EHB initiative
Corridor A
North Africa& Southern Europe

Corridor B
Southwest Europe& North Africa

Note: Since all corridors terminate in Germany, OGE and ONTRAS are presented in each corridor grouping.

Corridor CNorth SeaCorridor DNordic andBaltic regions

7Corridor E
East and South-EastEurope

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Each corridor has a unique regional role in enabling the scale up of low-costhydrogen supply and the decarbonisation of energy demandCorridor A
North Africa& Southern Europe

Corridor A would transportlarge quantities of costcompetitive green hydro­
gen potential from Tunisia
and Algeria through Italy tocentral Europe leveraging
existing gas infrastructure.
Corridor A would decar­
bonise existing industries
along the route in Italy
and Central Europe aswell as in Germany.

1Corridor B
Southwest Europe& North Africa

Corridor B would
transport green hydrogen
supply from the Iberianpeninsula and North
Africa, and gain accessto under­ground storagesites in France to deliver
stable hydrogen supply.
Corridor B would decar­
bonise regional industry
and transport clusters inPortugal, Spain, Franceand Germany.

Corridor C
North Sea

Corridor DNordic andBaltic regions

Corridor C includes hydro­
gen supply from ongoingand planned offshorewind, blue hydrogen andlarge-scale integratedhydrogen projects in theNorth Sea.
Corridor C would meetdemand from industrial
clusters and ports in theUK, the Netherlands,
Belgium and Germany.

While Ukraine is expected to be a hydrogen exporting region, there is significant uncertainty related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on Ukraine’s gas infrastructure and economic development.

Corridor D would transport
green hydrogen supply
potential from onshore
and offshore wind fromcountries surrounding theBaltic Sea.
Corridor D would be built
around regional networks
around industrial clusters,
serving numerous new green
steel, e-fuel, fertilizer andgreen chemicals projects
in the Nordics as well
as decarbonizing existing
industry in the Nordics,Baltics, Poland and Germany
along the corridor route.

Corridor E
East and South-EastEurope

Corridor E would connect
high supply potential
regions such as Romania,Greece, and Ukraine¹– leveraging vast landavailability and highcapacity factors for solarand wind.
Corridor E would deliverhydrogen to off-takers
in Central Europe andGermany.

8EXECUTIVE SUMMARY© 2022 European Hydrogen Backbone,
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These five supply corridors will enable the creationof a pan-European hydrogen market by 2030

D– Connect substantial hydrogen supply and demand acrossEuropean regions and leverage underground storage todeliver stable supply

Oslo– Access vast volumes of cost-competitive domestic hydrogen
supply and hydrogen imports from neighboring regions

C– Foster the creation of a liquid, pan-European, hydrogentrading market

Helsinki
TalinnStockholm

Göteborg
Riga

Edinburgh

Copenhagen

VilniusGdansk– Accelerate the deployment and integration of renewableenergy resources

Hamburg

Manchester
DublinBerlinRotterdam

CorkLondon– Support scale-up of green, innovative European industries

Warsaw
CologneLeipzig
Krakow

PragueFrankfurt

Paris

MunichViennaBratislava
Budapest– Increase the resiliency of Europe’s energy system

Ljubljana

Lyon– Contribute to European energy independence anddiversity of supply.

MilanVenice

Bordeaux

Bucharest

BilbaoMarseille
Porto
Madrid– Deliver substantial and cost-effective emission reductions

9B

Rome
Barcelona

Valencia

LisbonAlmeria
TarifaESoﬁaA

PalermoAthens

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY© 2022 European Hydrogen Backbone,
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To ensure the development of each corridor by 2030,
there is a need for clear and concrete actions
Fostering development of new and repurposed hydrogen infrastructure, for example, by unbundling rules
facilitating the efficient use of TSO expertise and services and by allowing the adoption of different vertical unbundlingmodels in the EU, as is the case with natural gas

Corridor A
North Africa& Southern EuropeCorridor D
Nordic andBaltic regions

Corridor B
Southwest Europe& North Africa

Unlock financing to fast-track hydrogen infrastructure deployment by applying regional regulatory flexibility andother pragmatic financing solutions (including incentivizing the adoption of hydrogen by demand sectors)

Simplify and shorten planning and permitting procedures for the full value chain of renewable energies andhydrogen infrastructure projects.

Facilitate integrated energy system planning of hydrogen, natural gas, and electricity infrastructure supporting
the accelerated deployment and integration of renewable energy resources
Corridor C
North Sea

Corridor E
East and South-EastEurope

Intensify energy partnerships with exporting, non-EHB countries (e.g., with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Ukraine)providing financing support to reduce the cost of capital in export countries and identifying a common certification
system for hydrogen exchanges

However, speed will be of essence!

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY© 2022 European Hydrogen Backbone,
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The EHB initiative stands ready to deliver the hydrogen infrastructureneeded to achieve Europe’s 2030 hydrogen targets

We have identified a large
share of the demand andsupply needed to meet
the RePowerEU targets.

We analysed andstudied five largescale, hydrogen supply
corridors that will be
critical in transporting
the required amounts ofhydrogen.

These five supply corridors
have the potential toprovide Europe withaccess to abundantand low-cost hydrogen
supply by 2030.

To ensure thedevelopment of these
supply corridors on time,
we have identified five
key concrete actions

The EHB initiative and its members are ready to deliver11

Ultimately, to realise
the hydrogen pipeline
infrastructure required by2030, action is needednow.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY© 2022 European Hydrogen Backbone,
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Our recommendation: Establish hydrogen supply corridors
as enabler for hydrogen market creation

Answering to RePowerEU
This reports shows how all
31 members are able toaccelerate the hydrogen
infrastructure development
to enable the 20 MT of renew-­able hydrogen by 2030

EHB recommends introducing
the establishment of hydrogen
supply & import corridors as
front-running infrastructure,including all infrastructure requirements, as a political objective.

12