Burghausen/Burgkirchen/Ingolstadt/Munich/Vienna, 20 June 2023. – Six companies from the energy and chemical industries are developing a roadmap to build up a value creation chain for the import of hydrogen to Bavaria. The objective is to provide sufficient quantities of hydrogen in an economically viable and sustainable way, the focus of the initiative being on supplying hydrogen to Bavarian industries. The activities of the companies bayernets GmbH, BAYERNOIL Raffineriegesellschaft mbH, Gas Connect Austria GmbH, Wacker Chemie AG, Westlake Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG and Verbund AG are of great significance for the whole diversified European hydrogen market.
The required steps of the individual companies will be coordinated along the value chain to ensure the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in 2030. The necessary infrastructure projects were submitted to the European Commission as Projects of Common Interest (PCI). The H2 Import Consortium is currently focusing on the southern hydrogen import corridor (production in North Africa, e.g. Tunisia and transport via Italy and Austria). The work of the consortium shows that Bavaria with its existing gas infrastructure can play an important role in the diversified European H2 network. However, to implement the hydrogen import roadmap, regulatory issues and bureaucratic obstacles must first be solved. Establishing the hydrogen import corridor also requires financial state incentives in the ramp-up phase.
Hydrogen is indispensable for successful transformation to climate neutrality. Industry especially requires green hydrogen soon in order to defossilise its processes in terms of materials and energy and thus reduce greenhouse gases. The availability of large quantities of hydrogen produced under economically viable conditions is crucial for highly developed industrial sites in Bavaria.
On the one hand, development of regional hydrogen production is extremely important for Bavaria’s immediate hydrogen supply. At the same time, it is necessary to supply highly industrialised regions that do not have sufficient renewable energy to produce hydrogen due to their geographical conditions via a European hydrogen network. This means import from regions with very good wind and solar conditions to produce hydrogen is necessary. Transporting hydrogen via pipelines constitutes the most cost-effective and scalable solution for importing to Bavaria. Existing natural gas pipelines can be converted efficiently and inexpensively for transporting hydrogen. Non-discriminatory access can be given to all interested market participants to use these hydrogen import routes (“Open Access”).