They were given an insight into the current gas supply and its developments, as well as how Austria's national infrastructure is preparing for the future of hydrogen.

Security of supply for Austria and Europe

The Baumgarten site, located in the heart of Europe, is an important part of the European energy infrastructure. Several national and international pipeline systems meet here to take over natural gas flows from producing countries and distribute them to neighbouring European countries and within Austria. Since its launch over 60 years ago, the operators of the gas station, Gas Connect Austria (GCA) and TAG, have used their expertise in the energy industry to turn a distribution station for initial gas imports into a central hub that has taken on a key role in the secure energy supply of Central, Southern and Eastern Europe.

Against the background of current geopolitical developments, security of supply in Europe is a key issue. Even though Austria is now developing more strongly from a gas transit country to a destination country for natural gas, it still has an important role to play in the supply of natural gas for Austria and, in the event of the failure of previous sources, for neighbouring countries due to international security of supply (SOS) obligations.

Stable supply is essential - now and in the future

‘The international interest in the Baumgarten gas station, including at diplomatic level, underlines our importance as a guarantor of stable infrastructure that reliably supplies both Austria and its European neighbours with energy,’ says Brigitte Straka-Lang, Managing Director of TAG GmbH.  

‘While natural gas currently plays the dominant role in the energy supply, we are already working intensively on the infrastructure for a future hydrogen economy. Investments in the security of supply for Austria and our neighbouring countries are essential - by being able to operate pipelines in the opposite direction, we are creating more diversification. The expansion with parallel pipelines also forms the basis for the future transport of hydrogen,’ explains Stefan Wagenhofer, Managing Director of Gas Connect Austria.

Future projects: from natural gas hub to hydrogen hub

The operators of the Baumgarten gas station, Gas Connect Austria (GCA) and TAG, are committed to expanding the hydrogen infrastructure at national and European level.

The Baumgarten station will play a central role as a hydrogen hub in the future. As part of the European ‘SoutH2 Corridor’ initiative, Austria's connection to key hydrogen transport routes is being decisively advanced. The GCA and TAG projects cover the Austrian part of the SoutH2 Corridor and act as central interfaces for future hydrogen transport in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe.

GCA and TAG are an active part of international consortia for implementation scenarios with hydrogen as the energy of the future, such as Hydrogen Europe or the Clean Hydrogen Alliance. They were actively involved in the development of the European Hydrogen Backbone - where European transmission system operators jointly developed a network for the future hydrogen supply, utilising existing infrastructure as far as possible. The companies are also actively involved in setting up the European Network of Network Operators for Hydrogen (ENNOH) to promote international cooperation and the expansion of a sustainable hydrogen infrastructure.

With the ramp-up of the European hydrogen market, Baumgarten will further expand its role and act as a hydrogen hub for Europe to support the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.