Natural gas pipelines & Europe’s hydrogen future

Repurposed natural gas pipelines will serve as the backbone of Northwest Europe’s future hydrogen network.

Scaling-up Northwest Europe’s low-emission hydrogen network will require a robust infrastructure system, with a widespread pipeline network and longhaul storage.

Based on current targets, Northwest Europe’s hydrogen network could increase by almost eight-fold to over 12,000 km by 2030, with almost two-thirds of them repurposed natural gas pipelines.

Repurposing gas pipelines to hydrogen service can cut investment costs by 50-80% compared to newbuild pipelines.

This in turn, could translate into lower emission tariffs and improve the cost-competitiveness of low-emission hydrogen.

What is your view? Will gas pipelines get a second life in Europe’s hydrogen economy?

Source: Greg Molnar (LinkedIn)