In 2030 there will be a hydrogen bridge between North Africa and Europe. Accelerate the South H2 project. Yesterday in Rome the signing of a declaration of intent between five countries involved in the Southern Hydrogen Corridor. 3300 kilometers to transport renewable hydrogen from North Africa to the Old Continent. “Hydrogen is essential for heavy industry in view of decarbonisation and for the creation of long-duration storage systems. And the most realistic scenario for Italy (but also for Europe) is to work on domestic production, but also on imports”, explains Gianni Silvestrini, scientific director of Kyoto Club and scientific director of QualEnergia.
Global demand for hydrogen is close to 100 million tonnes in 2024. “There are a number of uses for hydrogen that have proven not to be viable. It is not needed for mobility (Germany has abandoned train projects for example and Japan has abandoned hydrogen cars) or for civil construction. But for industries that have great difficulty decarbonizing, it is a necessity.” The European objectives between now and 2030 are ambitious. “Italy aims to have 3 gigawatts of electrolysers (plants for making hydrogen) powered by renewables. Other countries are even more ambitious. Spain aims for 11 gigawatts, Germany for 10 and France for 12. And producing all the hydrogen at home is complicated, which is why importing it is useful as a precaution,” continues Silvestrini.
There is talk of a gas pipeline capable of transporting renewable hydrogen from North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) to Germany and Austria, passing through Italy, which will act as an “energy gateway” for Europe. The pipeline will connect Mazara del Vallo to Tarvisio, covering 2,300 kilometers in Italian territory, with an annual transport capacity estimated at 4 million tonnes of green hydrogen. Led by an international consortium made up of Snam (Italy), Tag and Gca (Austria) and Bayernets (Germany), the South H2 Corridor will use approximately 70% of existing infrastructure adapted for the transport of hydrogen. The infrastructure should be active by January 2030, in line with the objectives of the European REPowerEU plan, contributing 40% to the achievement of decarbonisation targets.
“The corridor is needed because Italy (and other European countries) which are already having difficulty reaching the renewables objectives set for 2030 should also add a share of renewables destined for hydrogen. Producing only at home would mean having to increase the installed power of renewables by a third, in addition to what is already needed for 2030″, continues the Professor.
Demand for hydrogen reached 100 million tonnes in 2024 (Global Hydrogen Review 2024) from 97 million tonnes in 2023. “In the long term, green hydrogen (produced with renewable sources) has more development potential than blue hydrogen (comes from fossil fuels like natural gas). But it means having many renewable sources available. This is the question on the table”, concludes Silvestrini.