European companies work on the hydrogen highway

Four leading Central European gas companies have begun work on the so-called hydrogen highway. Their joint initiative Central European Hydrogen Corridor focuses on the development of a hydrogen highway in Central Europe, which will be used to transport hydrogen from promising production areas in Ukraine. The hydrogen produced in this way will be transported via Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the areas of future high demand for hydrogen in Germany and the EU. The initiative brought together natural gas transmission network operators from Ukraine (Gas TSO of Ukraine), Slovakia (Eustream), the Czech Republic (NET4GAS) and Germany (OGE). A large gas corridor connecting Ukraine with European demand areas passes through Slovakia and the Czech Republic. At the same time, the Slovak, Czech and German gas pipelines can be adapted to transport hydrogen. "Our robust transmission system offers a flexible and affordable way to transport green energy to European markets. We are determined to prepare our hydrogen transport network and thus significantly support the EU's decarbonisation efforts, "said Rastislav Ňukovič, CEO of Eustream. Pawel Stanszak, Deputy Director for Development and Transformation of Gas TSO of Ukraine, points out that natural gas will be the main source of energy and a strong point on the decarbonisation agenda in the next two decades. At the same time, from 2050, when carbon neutrality is expected, hydrogen will play an important role. "That's why we have to start exploring its possibilities today," Stanczak added. Within Europe, Germany is expected to be a major area of ​​demand for hydrogen. According to experts, imports of hydrogen in large quantities will be necessary in order to meet this expected demand. The new Central European hydrogen highway is intended for this purpose, which can be created by modifying the existing transmission network together with targeted investments in new gas pipelines and compressor stations. The project partners have already started to examine the technical feasibility of creating a Central European hydrogen corridor for the transport of pure hydrogen from Ukraine to Germany in quantities of up to 120 gigawatt-hours per day from 2030. "Although such technical studies are very comprehensive, we are confident that this international partnership will have the first results of feasibility, capacity and transportation prices available for next year," added Andreas Rau, CEO of NET4GAS. According to OGE CEO Jörg Bergmann, the transnational hydrogen network is key to the future hydrogen market. "One thing is certain. Without extensive use of hydrogen in renewable energy, it will not be possible to achieve climate goals, ”said Bergmann.