NET4GAS Has Taken Part in Successful Completion of Study Aimed at South-East European Hydrogen Corridor

Prague, 29 May 2025- Eight leading European transmission system operators, including NET4GAS, have successfully completed a study aimed at the South-East European Hydrogen Corridor (SEEHyC) – a hydrogen corridor that is to connect Southeastern Europe with Central Europe. Launched at the beginning of 2024 to respond to Europe's growing demand for hydrogen, this key initiative has fundamental importance for the development of the European hydrogen economy. The operation of the corridor is planned to begin in 2029.

Spanning over 3,132 kilometers, the SEEHyC will in future interconnect hydrogen production centers in the Balkans and in the Middle East with high demand clusters in Central and Western Europe, Southern Germany in particular. For the Czech Republic, the project presents an excellent opportunity, considering the country's strategic position in the center of Europe. Additional information on the project can be found here.   

"Thanks to its strategic geographic position, the Czech Republic is well positioned to profit from access to three out of Europe's five main hydrogen corridors. The South-East Corridor is one of them, and it will play a fundamental role in the diversification of low-carbon hydrogen supply to Central Europe," says NET4GAS's CEO Michal Slabý, adding, "NET4GAS is aware that the success of the corridor is contingent on the development of the entire hydrogen value chain. For that reason, we take active part in the dialogue with all stakeholders, ranging from suppliers to final consumers."

The SEEHyC is a fundamental component of the REPowerEU strategy. As such, it is aligned with the vision of the European Hydrogen Backbone as one of its five key hydrogen transport corridors. The initiative responds to the anticipated major increase in demand for hydrogen in Germany, which is forecast to reach as high as 130 TWh and more than 500 TWh by the years 2030 and 2050, respectively. With an initial transport capacity amounting to 80 GWh/day (3.3 GWh/h), the corridor is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2029. The project combines the building of new hydrogen pipelines with the conversion of existing gas infrastructure to make it compatible with hydrogen. 

NET4GAS plays a key role in meeting the objectives of the updated Hydrogen Strategy of the Czech Republic, which relies on the import of hydrogen. Fundamentally important in this regard is the repurposing of a part of the existing natural gas transmission infrastructure as a hydrogen system, without the need to build a new transmission network. Specifically, the company is planning three hydrogen ventures, each consisting of the repurposing of one of three parallel pipelines on each of the core branches of the transmission system – the Czech hydrogen backbone infrastructure West, North, and South (Hydrogen Projects – NET4GAS). 

The SEEHyC is executed in cooperation with DESFA (Greece), Bulgartransgaz (Bulgaria), Transgaz (Romania), FGSZ (Hungary), EUSTREAM (Slovakia), NET4GAS (Czech Republic), OGE, and naTran Deutschland (Germany). All of the partners have applied for the assignment of Project of Common Interest (PCI) status to their projects in order to obtain the necessary support for the implementation stage from the European Commission.

 

 

Contact for media:

David Hořínek

Mobile: +420 737 250 855 

E-mail: david.horinek@net4gas.cz