European hydrogen backbone buildout well under way

Europe’s gas transmission system operators (TSOs) are planning to make substantial investments and can point to tangible progress on projects for the European hydrogen backbone network.

Some 40 concrete projects representing 31,500km of hydrogen pipelines with commissioning expected prior to 2030 are reported to be under way, according to a new implementation and cost update from the initiative.

The TSOs also are actively seeking sufficient contractual commitments from future network users to underpin their investment decisions in hydrogen networks, with the first financial investment decision – on the Hydrogen Network Netherlands project to create a national network there – already taken.

The European Hydrogen Backbone initiative is a group of currently 33 TSOs spanning the European continent and collaborating to lead hydrogen infrastructure development.

Have you read?
GB’s East Coast Hydrogen project delivery plan set out
Energy Transitions Podcast: How to build a viable green hydrogen economy

Such infrastructure is calculated to offer a more cost-effective energy transfer solution to serve hydrogen demand as compared with high voltage direct current or high voltage alternating current electricity transmission options and is thus considered to be key to scaling up Europe’s renewable energy supply efficiently.

From its outset the initiative has advocated for hydrogen ‘corridors’ as providing an economical means to bridge the substantial variation of hydrogen producers and end users throughout the regions of Europe.

For example, some regions, such as the Nordics, Baltics, North Sea and southern Europe, are characterised by a net oversupply of low cost hydrogen resources, whereas others, such as central Europe, will require hydrogen imports from neighbouring European or other countries to meet their hydrogen demand.

Five hydrogen corridors have been identified – from North Africa and southern Italy towards central Europe, from North Africa and southwest Europe to Germany and beyond, from the North Sea to western Germany, from the Nordic and Baltic regions towards Germany and from Greece or Ukraine towards central Europe.

All five of the envisioned corridors have projects currently in progress, with a clear majority of member TSOs working on implementation and producing real progress in their countries, the project update reports.

Implementation costs

The other important update reported is on the implementation costs, which have been impacted by factors including Covid, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation and policy responses to climate change since earlier estimations.

Based on data from TSOs’ real world projects, the current costs are calculated at €1.8 to 4.4 million/km (US$2 to 4.8 million/km) for new build onshore pipelines and €4 million/MWe for new compressors.

The report concludes stating that the initiative views investment in the hydrogen backbone as a necessary step forward for achieving lowest cost societal decarbonisation in Europe.

In addition to the financial challenges, there are a variety of considerations related to the hydrogen value chain and project delivery process that could help to enable the timely and efficient implementation of the backbone and will be a focus in the coming year.

“Hydrogen makes use of plentiful European and neighbouring resources, serves a multitude of sectors – including those typically viewed as hard to decarbonise – and provides connectivity and resilience across the continent. Simply put, the hydrogen infrastructure network is of critical importance for achieving energy transition goals while preserving the competitiveness of the EU.”