Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor completes pre-feasibility study

The gas transmission system operators in a number of Baltic Sea countries have completed a pre-feasibility study for the planned Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor, further paving the way to develop a cross-border hydrogen pipeline network between Finland and Germany.

Finland's Gasgrid Finland, Estonia's Elering, Latvia's Conexus Baltic Grid, Lithuania's Amber Grid, Poland's GAZ-SYSTEM and Germany's Ontras are developing the project and commissioned AFRY Management Consulting to conduct the study at the start of the year.

The study defines the key conditions for implementing the project, which aims to transport renewable hydrogen between the countries along a 2,500-km pipeline, with flows reaching 2.7 million metric tons per year by 2040, the TSOs said in a statement Sept. 9.

This could rise to 4 MMt/y by 2050, saving up to 37 MMt/y of CO2 equivalent, the TSOs said.

“The study provides a comprehensive framework covering the technical, legal, organizational and economic aspects necessary to realize the hydrogen corridor,” Gasgrid Finland said in the statement.

The pre-feasibility study found the Nordic and Baltic regions could produce around 27.1 MMt of renewable hydrogen by 2040 and said the planned corridor could be one of the first operational cross-border hydrogen pipelines in Europe.

The TSOs will now move on to a feasibility study “covering the project’s detailed technical analysis, commercial and economic assessment” and a detailed implementation timeline, they said.

The project partners signed a cooperation agreement in December 2022, and in November 2023, the European Commission gave it Project of Common Interest status.

The pipeline corridor forms part of the European Hydrogen Backbone, a planned network of 28,000 km of dedicated hydrogen pipelines by 2030, expanding to 53,000 km across 28 European countries by 2040. The initiative is backed by a group of 31 energy infrastructure operators.

Projected green hydrogen costs vary widely by region and production pathway, depending on renewables resources and capital costs. The Nordics are well placed to deploy surplus hydro and wind generation for hydrogen production via water electrolysis and could export pipeline hydrogen to high-demand centers such as Germany, which is expected to require significant imports to meet anticipated demand.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the cost of producing hydrogen via alkaline electrolysis in Europe at Eur6.14/kg ($6.79/kg) Sept. 6 (Netherlands, including capex) based on month-ahead power prices. Proton exchange membrane electrolysis production was assessed at Eur6.40/kg, while blue hydrogen production by steam methane reforming (including carbon, CCS and capex) was at Eur2.72/kg.