EUSTREAM for Climate Neutrality

EUSTREAM supports the climate objectives defined in the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal. We want to contribute responsibly towards making Europe the first climate neutral continent as soon as possible.

In addition to other measures, the solution also includes gradually increasing use of renewable and low-emission gases. We want to become a regional leader within this process, who will help start the development of a new, hydrogen economy. In order to speed up necessary changes, we have already been investing into energy transformation projects.

Our plans are based on the advantageous situation of the Slovak transmission system consisting of several parallel gas pipelines with large diameters that interconnect the Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Poland. The modernized corridor of several parallel pipelines enables gradual development of hydrogen transmission concurrently with the traditional natural gas transmission.

EUSTREAM plans investments thanks to which we will be technologically ready to transport a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen in the coming years.

We plan to dedicate some of our parallel pipelines for transmission of pure hydrogen in the future, which will be part of the European Hydrogen Backbone with direct connections to neighbouring countries. To support this goal, we have developed the pilot H2 Infrastructure – Transmission Repurpose (H2I-TR) project, which became part of a third Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the field of hydrogen technologies. This package of 33 projects under the joint name of IPCEI "Hy2Infra", which was jointly prepared and notified by seven member states - France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Italy, and which covers a wide part of the hydrogen value chain, was approved under the EU State aid rules by the decision of the European Commission dated February 15, 2024. The European Commission has approved the state aid for these projects in the total amount of 6.9 billion euros.

 

Moreover, we have been planning production of green hydrogen from renewable resources, which will be used within the initial phase as a gas for compressor propulsion. The first pilot project of this kind has been prepared for the Veľké Kapušany compressor station with options for further extensions. We have been also working on other projects that focus on various low-emission gas transmission alternatives and cooperating within various projects for production and transmission of the hydrogen produced from natural gas with capture and permanent storage of CO2 (CCS).

In energy transformation, we promote responsible solutions, which include maximising the decarbonisation potential of natural gas in the transition period. Until new green energy capacities are fully available, the correct policy is to replace the largest sources of pollution with natural gas. The transition to the right mix of natural gas and renewables is currently a quick and effective solution which, in addition to reducing greenhouse gases, helps to considerably improve air quality

 

EUSTREAM is a partner in several international partnerships focusing on hydrogen development:

• European Hydrogen Backbone
• H2EU+Store, an international partnership focusing on production, transmission, storage and supply of green hydrogen, concluded among the companies RAG Austria, Bayerngas, bayernets, Eco-Optima, OGE, EUSTREAM, NAFTA, Gas Connect Austria and MND, with the intention to accelerate the market ramp-up of green hydrogen in Central Europe. The initiative is focused on the entire value chain of the future hydrogen market (from production, transmission and storage and including the consumer market). The initiative is to be continuously expanded along the entire value chain in order to import green hydrogen from countries with high green hydrogen production potential (for example, Ukraine) to Austria and Germany, using storage capacities to cover seasonal demand.
• Central European Hydrogen Corridor, a joint initiative of transmission system operators from Germany (OGE), the Czech Republic (NET4GAS), Slovakia (EUSTREAM) and Ukraine (Gas TSO of Ukraine), whose intention is to build a hydrogen "highway" through Central Europe that will be used to transport hydrogen from prospective production areas in Ukraine through Slovakia and the Czech Republic to areas of the expected high demand for hydrogen in Germany.
• Development of the state-of-the-art equipment for production of blue hydrogen in the eastern part of Slovakia; Memorandum of Understanding signed by EPIF, Eustream, NAFTA, and RWE Supply & Trading.

• SunsHyne Corridor, a joint initiative of transmission system operators from Italy (Snam), Austria (TAG), Slovakia (EUSTREAM), the Czech Republic (NET4GAS) and Germany (OGE), whose ambition is to enable the transport of hydrogen from the production areas of North Africa through Italy, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the areas with expected high demand in Germany as well as in other countries.

• South – East European Hydrogen Corridor (SEEHyC) – a joint initiative supported by transmission system operators from Germany (OGE), the Czech Republic (NET4GAS), Slovakia (EUSTREAM), Hungary (FGSZ), Romania (Transgaz), Bulgaria (Bulgartransgaz) and Greece (DESFA), whose goal is to implement a hydrogen corridor leading from prospective production areas to areas of consumption.

More about energy transformation projects is available on the Network Development page.