The two largest gas transmission grid operators in Sweden and Finland are working together to develop a 1,000km cross-border green hydrogen network linking the two countries across the Bothnian Bay region by 2030.

Swedish gas network operator Nordion Energi and Finnish state-owned Gasgrid Finland aim to develop the Nordic Hydrogen Route, which would connect green hydrogen production with demand sites via a pipeline following the Bothnian Bay coastline, with major branches to expected demand centres such as Gallivare and Kiruna.

The project will be developed together with stakeholders along the hydrogen value chain, the two companies say.

“A functioning hydrogen market in Bothnian Bay will position the region as an attractive proposition for investment, stimulate green industrialisation and create new jobs. It would also provide the Nordics with high reliability of energy supply,” says Hans Kreisel, CEO of Nordion Energi.

1,000km – Planned length of hydrogen network

Regional demand for hydrogen is estimated to exceed 30TWh by 2030 and be around 65TWh by 2050, with much of the production based on onshore and offshore wind, the two companies say, adding that green hydrogen production could drive the development of more than 20GW of wind power capacity in the region.

Finland’s green hydrogen production is at an early stage, with energy company P2X planning to launch the country’s first facility with a 20MW electrolyser at a plant in Harjavalta in 2024.

Sweden’s development of a hydrogen economy is more advanced, with projects underway across the supply chain, including the development of demand from the steel industry.

“Beyond catalysing regional economic growth and new industrial investments, the Nordic Hydrogen Route would contribute significantly towards Finland’s and Sweden’s ambitious climate neutrality goals,” says Olli Sipila, CEO of Gasgrid Finland. “It would also enable Finland and Sweden to become leading producers of clean alternative fuels for the aviation and maritime industries by transporting hydrogen to new production sites.”

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Author: Stuart Penson