In the form of a delegated act, the European Commission has today published a list that includes the HyPipe Bavaria – The Hydrogen Hub infrastructure project as a project of common interest (PCI) in Western and Eastern Europe. This listing as a PCI project is a positive signal for hydrogen imports to Bavaria. HyPipe Bavaria, bayernets’ hydrogen infrastructure project has thus reached an important milestone.
With its HyPipe Bavaria – The Hydrogen Hub project, bayernets is laying the foundation for the Bavarian hydrogen network. It sets the course for Bavaria’s hydrogen imports, for the diversification of the German hydrogen supply and for the creation of a European hydrogen hub. The project will have a length of approximately 300 km and will transport hydrogen from the import point Burghausen on the border between Austria and Bavaria to the gates of Munich, then on to Ingolstadt and further to the north and southwest of Germany.
Projects that are listed as PCI projects (projects of common interest), can benefit from accelerated permitting procedures and, under certain circumstances, European funding.
HyPipe Bavaria – The Hydrogen Hub is an important part of the German hydrogen core network as well as the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) and connects regions with hydrogen demand with numerous producing regions in Germany and abroad. The project is crucial for the supply of hydrogen from Western and Eastern Europe. HyPipe Bavaria – The Hydrogen Hub is both part of the “Hydrogen Corridor Italy-Austria-Germany”, the so-called SoutH2 Corridor, and of the corridor via Slovakia and Austria for the supply of hydrogen from Ukraine. The EU Commission has therefore confirmed its function as a hub for the European supply of hydrogen.
The SoutH2 Corridor in particular forms the basis for diversifying the supply of hydrogen in Southern Germany. In spring already, the southern hydrogen corridor obtained political support from the Italian, Austrian and German energy ministries and the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs. At the German-Italian intergovernmental consultations on 22 November 2023, German and Italy confirmed their cooperation to diversify their energy supply and develop new hydrogen connections between Germany and Italy.
The SoutH2 Corridor
The SoutH2 Corridor has a length of 3,300 km and is being developed by four European transmission system operators: bayernets, GCA, TAG and Snam. The corridor connects North Africa, Italy, Austria and Germany and will thus supply important European demand clusters with competitive, renewable hydrogen from the southern Mediterranean region. The SoutH2 Corridor, which is to be fully functional by 2030 already, consists of the following individual PCI projects:
- “HyPipe Bavaria – The Hydrogen Hub” (bayernets GmbH)
- “H2 Backbone WAG + Penta-West” (Gas Connect Austria GmbH)
- “H2 Readiness of the TAG pipeline system” (Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH)
- “Italian H2 Backbone” (Snam Rete Gas)
Continuously updated information on the initiative is available at
https://www.hypipe-bavaria.com/ and https://www.south2corridor.net/.
Your contact:
Dirk Barz
Head of Corporate Communications and Public Relations
bayernets GmbH
Poccistraße 7
80336 Munich
Phone: +49 (0)89 890572-151