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About BHC

Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector - Unlocking the hydrogen potential in the Baltic Sea

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The Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector (BHC) is a ground-breaking project to create a first-of-its-kind offshore hydrogen pipeline infrastructure in the Baltic Sea Region to secure more energy for the Nordics and Europe. The project is initiated by the Finnish and Swedish transmission system operators Gasgrid Finland Oy and Nordion Energi AB together with the wind power developers OX2 in Sweden and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners in Denmark.

Hydrogen – the path towards Europe’s clean and secure energy future

The last year has demonstrated the importance of rapidly advancing the development of a stable European energy system that meets the increasing energy demand and supports the green transition. Another top priority from the European Union (EU) has been to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels from third-party countries and strengthen our strategic autonomy and security.

To achieve this, the EU has set out plans to drive the expansion of renewable and clean energy, with hydrogen identified as a key energy carrier. Hydrogen has a vital role in contributing to Europe’s energy independence and climate goals, supporting the green transition in “hard-to-abate sectors”. Despite its large potential for renewable energy and hydrogen production, the potential of the Baltic Sea is still largely untapped and development of the region's renewable energy production potential, enabled by infrastructure, can support achievement of climate and decarbonization targets. 

The BHC plans to build a 1,250 km pipeline system which will connect mainland Finland and Sweden with Germany, and potentially also Denmark. Between Finland, Sweden, and Germany, the pipelines can be connected to hubs for hydrogen production on Åland, Gotland, and Bornholm islands. These production points can unlock additional deployment of locally produced offshore wind power, while the hydrogen collected will be distributed throughout the Nordics and Northern Europe, supporting innovative decarbonization projects within each market and delivering on the EU’s 2050 targets. BHC’s interconnected infrastructure has the potential to transport a significant share of the EU’s domestic hydrogen target as defined by the RePower EU plan.


In addition, the hydrogen produced will play a vital role in balancing Europe’s future energy system by offering storage and balancing solutions. When electricity is cheap, more hydrogen will be produced. Conversely, when electricity prices are high, stored hydrogen can be deployed. The BHC will, therefore, contribute by balancing power in the grid, as well as establishing competitive energy prices.

The Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector (BHC) is a ground-breaking cross-border project that will secure the supply of green hydrogen in the Nordics and Northern Europe. The project is led by a group of leading infrastructure and energy industry companies, consisting of Gasgrid Finland, Nordion Energi, OX2, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, who have joined forces to create an infrastructure for green hydrogen collection and transportation.

 

The BHC will support Europe’s emerging hydrogen market through the creation of an efficient, harmonized, and reliable infrastructure that connects both supply and demand for all countries included in its network. Providing the Nordics and Europe with green Hydrogen, produced domestically in the EU and coming from a politically stable region, this will increase system resilience, energy independence, and security of supply on a national and European level. The project will also complement other hydrogen infrastructure projects in Europe, such as the Nordic Hydrogen Route, Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor and Germany’s hydrogen infrastructure development plans.

The project builds upon the substantial but so far largely untapped potential for renewable energy production in the Baltic Sea. A potential for additional production of as much as 100+ GW offshore wind power by 2040 has been identified in the region. This creates a significant hydrogen transport potential towards continental Europe and the Nordics.

 

The Marienborg Declaration, signed August 2022 by the German Chancellor and Prime Ministers to seven countries around the Baltic Sea, outlines a long-term vision of tapping the region’s offshore wind power potential. Infrastructure projects such as the BHC accelerate the process of realizing this vision.

BHC will be a first-of-its-kind hydrogen pipeline collector network, with large scale renewable hydrogen transportation capacity. It will link renewable energy sources directly to hydrogen demand sites, which in turn will enable cost-efficient transportation and energy storage.

 

In effect, the use of hydrogen becomes a cost-efficient way to distribute large amounts of energy over long distances in comparison to electricity grids.

The demand for green hydrogen is increasing as hydrogen is a critical enabler of the transition in hard-to-abate sectors of the economy, such as steel and metals production, and heavy transportation. BHC will provide several industrial sectors with an attractive pathway to contribute to Europe’s climate and decarbonization goals by enabling a stable and continuous hydrogen supply throughout Northern Europe.

 

The BHC pipeline will transport hydrogen produced from abundant wind resources. This means that there will be enough hydrogen produced for building strong domestic hydrogen-related industries around the Baltic Sea, supporting green industrialization on a national level, as well as exporting it to other markets in Europe. The potential is large for supplying energy both on a domestic level and to markets where the demand for hydrogen is growing.

There are significant benefits to unlocking the potential in the Baltic Sea region on national and international levels. BHC is committed to accelerating hydrogen development and ensuring that Europe becomes a global leader in hydrogen technology. The future of the Baltic Sea region is green and the time to act is now.