Import of green hydrogen: Memorandum of Understanding signed for southern hydrogen corridor

The Southern Hydrogen Corridor
At the first ministerial conference for the Southern Hydrogen Corridor in Rome on January 21, 2025, a declaration of intent was signed by the countries involved in the project: Germany, Italy, Austria, Algeria and Tunisia. The infrastructure project for the transportation of renewable hydrogen is to include a 3500 km to 4000 km long pipeline connection between North Africa and the participating European countries. The part of the corridor located on the European mainland runs from Sicily to Bavaria, will consist of 60 to 70 % converted natural gas pipelines and will be able to transport 55 TWh of green hydrogen per year to Germany.

Recognition from the EU
The project is receiving financial support from the European Union's "Global Gateway" program, which promotes high-quality sustainable projects beyond the borders of the EU. In addition, the project is already recognized as a "Project of Common Interest" (PCI) by the EU, which gives it higher priority and streamlines the approval and review process.

Future of the project
The next step is to plan the section of the pipeline running through the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe. Germany is supporting this planning through the hydrogen task force established last year with Algeria and further institutional cooperation with Algeria and Tunisia.

Significance in the context of the 4th Boysen-TU Dresden-Research Training Group
The interdisciplinary research in the 4th Boysen-TU Dresden-Research Training Group contributes to the planning and optimization of transport and import options for green hydrogen. For example, the doctoral students in Cluster E are working directly on possible scenarios for importing hydrogen from North Africa or the Middle East, while Cluster H focuses on optimizing hydrogen value creation networks.