H2EU+Store: Feasibility study confirms great potential for green hydrogen in western Ukraine

The international industry partnership H2EU+Store has completed its feasibility study. The study examined all key areas of the hydrogen value chain, including pro-duction, transport and potential consumption (i.e. the upstream, midstream and customer demand sectors). The results show that green hydrogen that complies with the Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) standard can be pro-duced on a large scale at competitive prices in western Ukraine and transported to Central Europe via existing infrastructure.

Thanks to its excellent wind and PV resources, sufficient water availability, and access to existing transnational gas infrastructure, western Ukraine offers ideal conditions for producing green hydrogen, which can be exported to European markets via existing pipelines. As the EU's eastern neighbour, western Ukraine could play a pivotal role in developing the eastern import corridor of the European Hydrogen Backbone, establishing the region as a strategically important location and an integral part of the transition of the European energy system.

Key findings of the study:

  • Significant production capacity: Western Ukraine, particularly the regions (oblasts) of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, has abundant renewable energy sources with significant expansion potential and is strategically located. This makes them among the most promising locations for the future production of green hydrogen.
  • Transport via pipelines is feasible and economical. Pipeline-based transport of hydrogen is by far the most cost-effective method. Ukraine has a compre-hensive pipeline network that provides direct connections to Austria and southern Germany via Slovakia, and could therefore form a central part of the EU's eastern import corridor.
  • High demand: Large-scale hydrogen projects require guaranteed long-term purchase volumes. The industrial regions analysed — the Linz industrial clus-ter (Upper Austria) and ChemDelta Bavaria (southern Germany) — have the necessary demand.

The results of the feasibility study will inform the next project phase, which invol-ves developing hydrogen production capacities in western Ukraine and integrating Ukraine into the eastern corridor of the European Hydrogen Backbone. This is an important step towards ramping up the hydrogen market.

By operating the border crossing point in the Überackern/Burghausen area, Bayernets GmbH is facilitating the connection between the Eastern European hydrogen import corridor and the German hydrogen core network. Cooperation with other companies along the entire value chain within the H2EU+Store project thus enables early coordination between hydrogen production and demand.

'In addition to the SoutH2 Corridor, the H2EU+Store project is another promising initiative to advance the development of a fully functional European hydrogen network. To offer long-term planning security to the many industrial companies in Bavaria, it is essential to make diverse hydrogen sources available via our infrastructure as soon as possible,' explains Dr Matthias Jenn, Managing Director of Bayernets GmbH.

About H2EU+Store:

H2EU+Store is an international partnership of leading energy companies, including initiators RAG Austria and Eco-Optima. Other project members include Bayern-Gas, Bayernets, Eustream, Gas Connect Austria, MND, NAFTA and Open Grid Europe. The partnership aims to accelerate the market ramp-up of green hydrogen in Europe. The project is also supported by the Ukrainian Gas Transmission Operator (Gas TSO of Ukraine) and UKRTRANSGAZ.

Further information at https://www.h2euplusstore.com/en/