The European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) initiative continues evolving. Its recent interactive maps update from February 2023 included accelerated changes in the pipeline infrastructure of various countries, including the latest feasibility estimates and PCI submissions. Overall, the new update shows that repurposed pipelines are still a clear majority of the overall network and that for both the 2030 and 2040 networks, the total length of repurposed pipelines has increased.
With regards to Central Eastern European countries in particular, the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector project has been reassessed and currently consists of two parallel, large-scale pipelines stretching from Mariehamn along Bornholm to Lubmin in Germany. This indicates great potential for offshore wind development in the Nordic-Baltic region. Estonia will update its connection to the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector in 2040 so that the pipeline also supplies the island of Saaremaa and Pärnu County on the Estonian mainland.
Bulgaria will improve its connection to Turkey by 2040. A new pipeline has been introduced along the Black Sea coast, running from the Turkish border to Romania.
Finally, the Transmission System Operator of Ukraine, a new member of the EHB initiative, is also developing plans for a hydrogen export corridor through Central Europe. As shown in previous EHB reports, the country has great potential for green hydrogen production. However, the possible route of the pipelines was not shown on the map to avoid misuse of this information at this difficult time for the Ukrainian people.
