An energy bridge between the shores of the Mediterranean. An infrastructure project of over 3,300 kilometers to transport renewable hydrogen from North Africa to Italy, Austria and Germany and supply European markets: it is the Southern Hydrogen Corridor South H2, at the center of the first penta-ministerial meeting organized at Villa Madama by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security.
The ministerial meeting was followed by the signing of a declaration of intent with which the commitment to support the project, so far signed by Italy, Germany and Austria, was extended to Tunisia and Algeria, establishing the common intention of meeting every six months at group level technical work to monitor and support its implementation.
THE PROJECT
For approximately 70% of the planned stretch, the Corridor will use the existing infrastructure for gas transport, which will be re-adapted to transport green hydrogen from North Africa to central Europe. The project is led by the Italian Snam, the Austrians Tag and Gca and the German Bayernets and will use the existing connection between Tunisia and Italy (Transmed). With a capacity of 4 million tonnes per year, the corridor will be able to contribute 40% to achieving the targets of the REPowerEU plan.
The infrastructure must come into operation by 1 January 2030. The Italian segment will be 2300 km long (70% of which will be obtained through the conversion of existing gas pipelines and 30% will be built from scratch). The pipeline will connect Mazara del Vallo to Tarvisio, across the Tyrrhenian ridge.
In the declaration of intent, the parties commit to facilitate the development of the Southern Hydrogen Corridor through infrastructure projects in Algeria and Tunisia, reusing existing infrastructure where possible and building new ones. Collaborations will be initiated to identify investment needs, evaluate risk mitigation mechanisms and define a favorable regulatory framework.
Cooperation between manufacturers, distributors and network operators will also be encouraged, with a focus on technology transfer and the improvement of local skills. Although the document is a political declaration with which the signatories do not assume any commitment or legal obligation, the initiative has a strategic value on an energy and political level and constitutes a valuable asset for the objectives of the national energy transition as well as in terms of diversification of EU supply lines.
Added to this is the strategic value of the project towards the countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, in particular Tunisia and Algeria, and for Italy’s role as an energy hub.
“It is a meeting of historical value”, commented the minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin. “Today we are here to seal an agreement which, in the spirit of the Italian government’s Mattei Plan and in the name of European cooperation and with our neighboring friends, strengthens the ties between the two shores of the Mediterranean”. The minister assured that “the Corridor is largely ready. Then, if we want, we can also add the pipeline with Libya, a pipeline of 13 and a half billion cubic meters of gas”.
“Italy works towards the objectives of decarbonisation and energy independence in a concrete and pragmatic way, pursuing an energy mix in which renewable sources, hydrogen and nuclear energy are adequately developed”, underlined the deputy prime minister and foreign minister Antonio Tajani, adding that with today’s agreement “we add a further piece to our energy strategy”, strengthening “further the role of our country as a European energy ‘hub'”.
“It is a key project that will help Italy become an energy gateway for Europe thanks to collaboration with countries on both sides of the Mediterranean”, highlighted Stefano Venier, CEO of Snam.