1. The projects are candidates to obtain the status of Project of Common Interest (PCI)
May 9th, 2023 – The ministries for Energy of Austria, Germany and Italy signed a joint letter of political support for the development of a “southern hydrogen corridor” in the European Union and for the respective infrastructure projects to obtain the status of Project of Common Interest (PCI). Snam Italy’s gas infrastructure operator, Trans Austria Gasleitung (TAG) and Gas Connect Austria (GCA) in Austria and bayernets in Germany welcome this political support.
The southern hydrogen corridor (also called “SoutH2 Corridor”) is a 3 300 km dedicated hydrogen-ready pipeline corridor led by four major European TSOs: Snam, TAG, GCA and bayernets. The corridor would connect North Africa, Italy, Austria and Germany, thereby enabling the supply of competitive renewable hydrogen produced in the Southern Mediterranean area to reach key European clusters of demand.
With a hydrogen import capacity of more than 4 Mtpa (Million tonnes per annum) from North Africa, the corridor could deliver 40% of the REPowerEU import target. The initiative is centred around the utilisation of existing repurposed midstream gas infrastructure to transport hydrogen, with the inclusion of some new dedicated infrastructure where necessary. A high proportion of repurposed pipelines (>70%) will enable cost effective transportation, whilst access to favourable renewable hydrogen production locations (wind and solar) in North Africa will be beneficial mostly to hard-to-abate industries.
The development of the SoutH2 Corridor, which is part of the European Hydrogen Backbone, will guarantee security of supply and is crucial for the development of an interconnected and diversified hydrogen backbone.
The SoutH2 Corridor, which is expected to be fully operational as early as 2030, consists of the following individual PCI project candidates:
- “Italian H2 Backbone” promoted by Snam Rete Gas
- “H2 Readiness of the TAG pipeline system” promoted by Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH
- “H2 Backbone WAG + Penta-West" promoted by Gas Connect Austria GmbH
- “HyPipe Bavaria – The Hydrogen Hub” promoted by bayernets GmbH
Each TSO individually submitted Project of Common Interest (PCI) applications under the EU Commission’s TEN-E regulation in December 2022.
You can find continuously updated information about the initiative under www.south2corridor.net.
Fonte: www.snam.it
