Feasibility Study Confirms Plans for SunsHyne Corridor

According to a feasibility study conducted by the gas transmission system operators involved in the project, there are no technical or economic obstacles standing in the way of the planned SunsHyne Corridor. As a key transport infrastructure for hydrogen imports from North Africa, the SunsHyne Corridor is set to become a major pillar of the European hydrogen network, the Hydrogen Backbone.

The corridor is planned to run from Sicily in southern Italy over a distance of 3,400 kilometers to Germany. Approximately 85 percent of the infrastructure will consist of repurposed natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transport. Five gas transmission system operators are participating in the project: NET4GAS in the Czech Republic, Snam in Italy, Eustream in Slovakia, TAG in Austria, and OGE in Germany.

The SunsHyne Corridor is intended to connect hydrogen production centers in North Africa with regions in southern and northeastern Germany in particular, where there is a high demand for hydrogen. According to the Czech operator NET4GAS, the corridor will have a daily transport capacity of around 450 GWh, which corresponds to an annual transport capacity of about 5 million tons of hydrogen.

“The SunsHyne Corridor is another step toward diversifying energy sources and strengthening energy security in the region,” said NET4GAS CEO Michal Slabý. “Once completed, this import corridor will complement other planned corridors that are also integral parts of the European Hydrogen Backbone, and will support the European market ramp-up for this raw material,” Slabý added.