Hydrogen corridors in Europe: strategies and countries involved

Abstract

The European Union and other countries worldwide have identified fossil-free hydrogen as a key resource for implementing the transition to a low-carbon economy. The European Commission, which had already emphasised the importance of the hydrogen economy within the Green Deal Industrial Plan, has recently quantified the import target for 2030, 2024, and 2050. Unlike oil and gas reserves, renewable energy and green hydrogen have numerous potential producing or supplying countries; therefore, identifying trading partners requires several research and policy initiatives and the adoption of both technoeconomic and political criteria. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prospect for the development of future hydrogen energy corridors and how European states are organising their political and transport strategies. These strategies design international transport and logistics chains that include the entire hydrogen value chain (production, export, storage and consumption). A new transport and logistics structure is expected for the energy distribution of this vector. Networks and transport nodes will be substantially involved in anticipation of an increase in demand for this type of energy carrier, both in the vicinity of ports, due to industrial demand, and within ports, for the transport and storage of this resource, assuming the increasingly central role of energy hubs and making their role more and more complex, going beyond the classic connotation of intermodal nodes.