15.02.2024
EUSTREAM's plan to enable international transmission of clean hydrogen has been granted the IPCEI status
EUSTREAM's plan to enable the international transmission of clean hydrogen has been granted the IPCEI status. This marks a significant milestone in our long-term efforts to facilitate the supply of clean hydrogen to European markets and accelerate the decarbonization of Slovak industry. Obtaining IPCEI status opens a realistic way for securing grants from national or EU sources, moving the whole project closer to realization.
The estimated project investments range from 400 to 500 million EUR, making it one of the biggest decarbonization investments in Slovakia. The project represents a unique opportunity for the decarbonization of Slovak industry, including operations such as US Steel Košice, Duslo Šaľa, and Slovnaft.
The aim of the Slovak project "H2 Infrastructure – Transmission Repurpose (H2I-TR)" is to repurpose one of the main transit pipelines for the transmission of clean hydrogen. This will enable the transmission of large volumes of green hydrogen between future areas of its production and consumption. In line with the EU Hydrogen Strategy, significant hydrogen production is expected beyond the borders of the EU, for example, in Ukraine or North Africa.
The new hydrogen infrastructure, including the EUSTREAM project, is intended to serve the transmission of hydrogen to the target markets. "This is a project that is absolutely essential to enable the hydrogen economy in Central and Eastern Europe. It is also the largest IPCEI of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, underscoring the strategic importance of the Slovak transmission network," said Rastislav Ňukovič, general director of EUSTREAM.
The EUSTREAM project is a part of the larger European initiative Hy2Infra, which involves 33 projects by 32 companies, including five small and medium-sized companies, from seven Member States: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia. As a part of the recognition of IPCEI status, the European Commission has approved up to 6.9 billion EUR of State aid by seven Member States for the third Important Project of Common European Interest in the hydrogen value chain.
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