Czech Hydrogen Backbone WEST

The goal of the Czech Hydrogen Backbone WEST project is to connect the Czech hydrogen transmission system with the German hydrogen backbone system and to bring hydrogen from northern Germany, Scandinavia, the North Sea region, and the Baltic Sea region to the Czech Republic and further on to southern Germany. In the Czech territory, it is planned to use one of the pipelines of the western branch of the existing gas infrastructure, with a total length of approximately 163 km, for the transmission of pure hydrogen. The project forms part of the international hydrogen corridor called the Czech-German Hydrogen Interconnector (CGHI) and will be connected to Germany via two-way border points VIP Brandov in the north and VIP Waidhaus in the west. This hydrogen corridor, including the Czech part, was included in the first (2023) and second (2025) lists of Projects of Common Interest/Projects of Mutual Interest (PCI/PMI). The Czech section of the corridor is listed under number 10.2.1 - Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Czechia towards Germany.

This project, together with the Czech Hydrogen Backbone NORTH project, is also part of three other European hydrogen initiatives. These are the Central European Hydrogen Corridor (CEHC), the South-East European Hydrogen Corridor (SEEHyC), and the SunsHyne Corridor. These are bi-directional corridors enabling the transmission of renewable hydrogen to the Central and Eastern European region, including the Czech Republic, from areas with high production and supply potential for this type of gas, specifically from Ukraine (CEHC), Southeast Europe (SEEHyC), and North Africa (SunsHyne).

In addition to hydrogen transit through the Czech Republic, the Czech Hydrogen Backbone WEST project will enable the supply of demand clusters in the Czech Republic along this hydrogen infrastructure, especially the expected hydrogen cluster in Northern Bohemia.

In January 2025, the project received a grant from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in the amount of EUR 127,000 for the elaboration of preparatory studies. The European Commission's press release on the grant award can be found here and the relevant implementing decision of the European Commission is available here.

The project is currently in the planning phase. In 2024, a feasibility study was prepared. In the same year, NET4GAS obtained the opinions of the regional nature conservation authorities of both Regions concerned (the Ústí nad Labem Region and the Pilsen Region), according to which the project, or, in legislative terminology, the intention, "Czech Hydrogen Backbone WEST":

cannot have a significant impact on the subject of protection or the integrity of Natura 2000 sites of European importance or on special protection areas, pursuant to Act No. 114/1992 Coll., on the Protection of Nature and the Landscape, and further
represents an insignificant change to the existing intention and as such is not subject to assessment under Act No. 100/2001 Coll., on Environmental Impact Assessment.

In 2025, the assessment of the impact of the project on nature conservation interests was completed in accordance with the requirements of Article 67 of Act 144/1992 Coll. Simultaneously, a screening with regard to the “Do No Significant Harm” principle, within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2020/852, was undertaken, focusing on biodiversity and natural ecosystems. The screening found the project to be compliant with the “Do No Significant Harm” principle.

An application for a project permit is foreseen to be submitted to the Transport and Energy Building Authority (Dopravní a energetický stavební úřad – DESÚ) by the end of 2026; the permitting process should be accomplished before the end of 2027. A public consultation on the project is planned for summer 2026, with one public hearing to take place in each of the two Regions concerned.

The construction works themselves are scheduled to take place from autumn 2029 till the end of 2030, when the commissioning is expected to take place.

Further information about the project can be found in the national Ten-Year Network Development Plan 2026—2035 (in Czech only), Annex A, pages 24-25. We will be happy to answer questions about the project and its planning at the e-mail address h2readiness@net4gas.cz.

Information leaflet (in Czech only)