The ministries for Energy of Italy, Austria and Germany have 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 have formed a partnership to develop the SoutH2 Corridor, a hydrogen-ready pipeline corridor connecting North Africa to central Europe and enabling renewable hydrogen produced in the Southern Mediterranean to reach European consumers.
The southern hydrogen corridor (also called “SoutH2 Corridor”) is a 3.300 km dedicated hydrogen-ready pipeline corridor part of the European Hydrogen Backbone. Its development will guarantee security of supply and is crucial for the creation of an interconnected and diversified hydrogen backbone. Furthermore, 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 SoutH2 Corridor is expected to be fully operational as early as 2030.
