Germany, Austria and Italy plan southern H2 corridor

31.05.2024

Source: Energy & Management Powernews

Germany, Austria and Italy want to intensify their energy cooperation with a joint declaration of intent for a southern hydrogen corridor.

On May 30, representatives from Germany, Austria and Italy signed a joint declaration of intent (JDOI) on the fringes of the Energy Council in Brussels. In it, they declare their intention to promote a hydrogen import corridor between the three countries. State Secretary for Economic Affairs Sven Giegold signed the declaration on the German side. The southern hydrogen corridor has already been selected as an EU project of common interest (PCI).

"The corridor is particularly important for the southern German federal states and is one of the five corridors that we are currently supporting," explained Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens). The development of a cross-border European hydrogen market is a guarantee for accelerating the energy transition and decarbonizing sectors with CO2 emissions that are difficult to reduce, he continued.

Enabling H2 imports from North Africa

"With a well-functioning cross-border hydrogen pipeline infrastructure on this route, a major step can be taken to establish a fully interconnected European hydrogen network and thus make an important contribution to Germany's energy security," Habeck explained. The southern corridor will ensure the import of renewably produced hydrogen from North Africa via southern Italy and will be further interconnected with the important demand hubs in Italy, Austria and Germany.

The trilateral partnership aims to improve energy security for the most important industrial demand clusters in the respective countries and at the same time support the European Union's climate protection goals. Among other things, a trilateral working group has been established for this purpose. It is also intended to bring together the relevant stakeholders, including transmission system operators, national regulatory authorities, financing bodies and potential hydrogen consumers and producers.

The Joint Declaration of Intent, or JDOI for short, recognizes the need for a European transition to hydrogen technologies, particularly in order to decarbonize sectors that are difficult to decarbonize. It underlines the strategic importance of the Southern Hydrogen Corridor as one of the five large-scale pipeline corridors to realize the import of 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen by 2030. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the development of the corridor will become a cornerstone of Europe's green energy landscape and pave the way for a cleaner and safer energy future.

Author: Susanne Harmsen