Hydrogen transmission plans of FGSZ Ltd.

FGSZ Zrt. is committed to achieving sustainability and climate protection goals. According to the Fit for 55 and RED III (renewable energy directive) guidelines of the European Union, by 2030, among other things, at least 42.5% of the hydrogen consumption in industry must be replaced with green hydrogen. Based on RePowerEU's plans, 10+10 million tons of green hydrogen production and import are required to achieve these goals.

The European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) initiative, in which 33 European gas transmission system operators participate, envisages a nearly 53,000 km long European hydrogen transport backbone network, more than 60% of which would be built by the participating system operators by repurposing the current natural gas transport infrastructure.

Between July 25 and September 15, 2023, our company conducted a non-binding market demand survey for future hydrogen transport to domestic injection and delivery facilities, as well as future cross-border system connection points. Based on the answers received, a significant import demand of 145,000 tons of green hydrogen may arise in Hungary as early as 2030. The detailed results of the aforementioned demand survey are available at this link.

Concept plan of the domestic hydrogen transport backbone network

In the light of the EU's aspirations and the predicted needs, our company began to investigate the possible future construction of the domestic hydrogen transport network, partly by repurposing existing gas pipelines and partly by building new hydrogen pipelines. According to current prospects, the north-south corridor, which forms the backbone of the domestic hydrogen network, could be realized by 2030 with the construction of a new pipeline. The SK/HU and RO/HU border crossing points provide domestic consumers with access to hydrogen coming from southern countries with high production potential, as well as enable the trans-Danubian hydrogen valley appearing in the National Hydrogen Strategy to be connected to the network. In the longer term, the HU/SI interconnector in the western parts of the country and the UA/HU interconnector in the east can open the door to access additional resources. Ukraine's favorable renewable energy production capabilities cannot be neglected from the point of view of meeting domestic hydrogen needs, and this backbone line can provide a much more cost-effective solution compared to the construction of a new pipeline by repurposing existing pipelines. This section of the network would enable the Borsod hydrogen valley to be connected to the backbone network.

Coordinated project promotion with associated transmission system operators is key to TYNDP2024.