I Ministries of Energy of Germany, Austria and Italy signed a joint letter of political support to the development of the SoutH2 Corridor, "southern hydrogen corridor", in the European Union and their respective infrastructure projects to obtain the status of Project of Common Interest (PCI). A prop welcomed by Snam Italy, Trans Austria Gasleitung (TAG) and Gas Connect Austria (GCA) in Austria and Bayernets in Germany.
What is the SoutH2 Corridor
Corridor SoutH2 is a corridor of pipeline dedicated to hydrogen along 3.300 km. The corridor it would connect North Africa, Italy, Austria and Germany, allowing the renewable hydrogen produced in the southern Mediterranean area to reach the main European demand clusters. The project is led by four European TSOs: Snam, TAG, GCA and Bayernets. With a capacity of over 4 million tons per year (4 mtpa), the SoutH2 corridor would be able to deliver 40% of the REPowerEU import target.
The development of SoutH2, which forms part of the European hydrogen backbone, would ensure security of supply and is crucial for the development of an interconnected and diverse hydrogen backbone.
SouthH2 project
The project is based on the reuse of midstream gas infrastructure for the transport of hydrogen with the construction of new infrastructure where necessary. The proportion of repurposed pipelines is over 70% allowing for convenient transportation. Furthermore, access to favorable locations in North Africa for the production of renewable hydrogen (from wind and solar) will be a benefit for the "hard-to-abate" industrial sectors, those with the most energy consumption where it is more difficult reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to forecasts the SoutH2 Corridor will be fully operational by 2030.
Il SoutH2 corridor, is made up of the following individual candidate projects of Common Interest:
- “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 submitted applications for Projects of Common Interest (PCI) individually according to the TEN-E regulation of the EU Commission in December 2022.
