SoutH2 Corridor: Five States signed Declaration of Intent

On 21 January 2025, the ministerial conference on the SoutH2 Corridor took place in Rome, where Austria, Germany, Italy, Algeria, and Tunisia signed a declaration of intent for the development of the Southern Hydrogen Corridor.

Under the leadership of Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, high-ranking representatives from politics and business from five countries met for the first time to discuss the future of this important infrastructure project. Austria was represented by Jürgen Schneider, Head of the Climate and Energy Section at the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation & Technology.

A Milestone for Europe’s Hydrogen Supply

The signing of the declaration of intent marks a crucial milestone in enabling hydrogen imports to Italy, Austria, and Germany and in meeting the growing demand for green hydrogen in the long term. The SoutH2 Corridor project is being jointly developed by the European transmission system operators Snam, TAG, Gas Connect Austria, and bayernets. The projects H2 Backbone WAG + Penta West by Gas Connect Austria and H2 Readiness of the TAG Pipeline System by TAG form the Austrian section of the SoutH2 Corridor. With a total length of 3,300 kilometres, the corridor extends from North Africa through Italy and Austria to Germany. Over 65% of the infrastructure will be based on repurposing existing gas pipelines, ensuring efficient and sustainable implementation. The planned transport capacity of four million tonnes of hydro-gen per year could contribute up to 40% towards achieving the REPowerEU targets. The projects along the "SoutH2 Corridor" have been all recognised by the European Union as PCI (Projects of Common Interest). PCI projects benefit from, among other things, accelerated permitting procedures and access to European funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

Expansion to Tunisia and Algeria

Until now, the project was supported by Austria, Germany, and Italy – with the new declaration of intent, Tunisia and Algeria have now been officially included in the initiative. This strengthens political cooperation and lays the foundation for a sustainable and long-term partnership between Europe and North Africa. The five states have agreed to meet every six months at a technical working group level to monitor and advance the project’s progress. Following the ministerial meeting, a business forum was held, bringing together companies from the signatory countries already active in the hydrogen value chain or interested in becoming involved.

Accelerating the Energy Transition

The declared aim of the project is to develop green hydrogen production facilities and the necessary infra-structure along the corridor. This initiative is expected to accelerate the energy transition and support both global and European climate goals. The SoutH2 Corridor offers a sustainable, secure, and competitive solution for hydrogen supply in Europe, representing a decisive step towards the decarbonisation of industry and energy supply.