On April 8,  the European Commission announced that the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector (BHC) is included on its published 6th list of European Projects of Common Interest (PCI) in the Official Journal of the European Union. The PCI status is officially entering into force today, 28 April. This gives BHC eligibility for benefiting from streamlined permit-granting, regulatory support, and possible EU financing from Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

BHC is a ground-breaking project that will 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 was initiated by the Finnish and Swedish transmission system operators Gasgrid Finland Oy and Nordion Energi AB together with the renewable energy developers OX2 and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

The BHC plans to build a 1,250 km pipeline system which will transport green hydrogen produced from abundant wind resources and other renewable energy sources in the Baltic Sea Region and connect mainland Finland and Sweden with Åland and Germany. The infrastructure will unlock the potential for more energy production in the Baltic Sea Region and support the creation of an efficient, harmonized, and reliable European hydrogen market.

Hydrogen has a vital role in balancing Europe’s future energy system as it offers storage and balancing solutions. Additionally, hydrogen supports decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors and green industrialization on a national and EU level.

By being part of the PCI-list, the BHC is deemed as a key cross-border infrastructure project that will contribute to the EU’s energy independence, climate targets and to establishing an affordable, secure and sustainable European energy system.

The PCI status will support the BHC’s realization of a large-scale offshore hydrogen pipeline infrastructure in the Baltic Sea Region by enabling simplified permitting processes and the possibility to apply for funding from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility program.

BHC is currently performing technical studies and investigations into possible locations that could be suitable for constructing the projected hydrogen pipeline.  The pipeline is expected to be ready by 2030, depending on further decision-making.

On Jan 22, the Municipality of Gotland, the regional Åland Government, and the regional municipality of Bornholm signed a Letter of Intent that sets forth the intentions in the future collaboration developing renewable energy resources in the Baltic Sea.

One of the key elements in the collaboration agreement is to promote energy infrastructure projects in the region. This is great news for the region, and the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector welcomes this important initiative to strengthen the interregional development and collaboration between island communities.

This is exactly what the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector aims to do – establishing an approx. 1,250km hydrogen infrastructure in the Baltic Sea that can accelerate the build out of Baltic renewable energy and at the same time enabling much needed balancing of the power grid in the region delivered through hydrogen production. 

The Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector plans to transport green hydrogen produced from abundant wind resources and other renewable energy sources in the Baltic Sea Region and connect mainland Finland and Sweden with Åland, Gotland with Germany. Branch lines to other countries may be added.

Succeeding will enable an acceleration of a hydrogen economy in the region providing the Baltic Sea countries with better and quicker access to green hydrogen, leading to easier and more cost efficient decarbonization of sectors that are not easy to electrify. This is strongly needed if the EU is to adhere to the climate targets set out in the Fit for 55 legislative packages.

This corresponds to the core of the three parties aim: 1) to strengthening interregional energy infrastructure that can aid both energy independence and economic development, and 2) at the same time supporting the role of island communities to continue the acceleration of climate and green energy transition.

Also, the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector will enable industries in the Baltics to decarbonize and to secure local jobs, growth, and value creation.

On Nov 28, the European Commission announced that the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector (BHC) is included on its 6^th list of European Projects of Common Interest (PCI). The Commission will now submit the PCI list to the European Parliament and the Council for approval. The non-objection period for the co-legislators is expected to be finalized in Q1 2024.

BHC is a ground-breaking project that will 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 was initiated by the Finnish and Swedish transmission system operators Gasgrid Finland Oy and Nordion Energi AB together with the renewable energy developers OX2 and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

The BHC plans to build a 1,250 km pipeline system which will transport green hydrogen produced from abundant wind resources and other renewable energy sources in the Baltic Sea Region and connect mainland Finland and Sweden with Åland and Germany. The infrastructure will unlock the potential for more energy production in the Baltic Sea Region and support the creation of an efficient, harmonized, and reliable European hydrogen market.

Hydrogen has a vital role in balancing Europe’s future energy system as it offer storage and balancing solutions. Additionally, hydrogen supports decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors and green industrialization on a national and EU level.

By being part of the PCI-list, the BHC is deemed as a key cross-border infrastructure project that will contribute to the EU’s energy independence, climate targets and to establishing an affordable, secure and sustainable European energy system. The Parliament and the Council have two months to approve the Commission’s list. If neither of the institutions reject the Commission’s proposal, the PCI list enters into force. 

The PCI status will support the BHC’s realization of a large-scale offshore hydrogen pipeline infrastructure in the Baltic Sea Region by enabling simplified permitting processes and the possibility to apply for funding from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility program.

BHC is currently performing technical studies and investigations into possible locations that could be suitable for constructing the projected hydrogen pipeline. The pipeline is expected to be ready by 2030, depending on further decision-making. 

On June 30, the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector (BHC) project hosted an event in Almedalen, Visby, on the island of Gotland, off Sweden’s Baltic Sea coast. The event gathered leading profiles from the energy industry who agreed that establishing an infrastructure and creating a market for green hydrogen in the Baltic Sea region will play a vital role in the climate transition. 

Leading profiles from the energy industry participated in a panel at the BHC event, namely Hillevi Priscar, Country Manager Sweden at OX2, Hans Kreisel, CEO at Nordion Energi, Robert Andrén, Director General at the Swedish Energy Agency, and Christer Bruzelius, Senior Partner and Project Owner at Gotlandsbolaget. They joined in an inspiring conversation about the benefits that an efficient hydrogen infrastructure could bring to the energy system, industry, and society at large.

-       Hydrogen and an infrastructure for hydrogen distribution play an important role in the transition to a fossil-free society, said Hillevi Priscar, at the event.

-       In discussions about the energy transition, we tend to focus on energy production and easily forget about the infrastructure dimension of the matter. But society’s transition requires efficient solutions for transports of renewable energy, added Hans Kreisel.

The panel agreed that the establishment of a hydrogen infrastructure in the Baltic region would also contribute to reducing Europe’s dependency on fossil-fuels from third-party countries, thereby strengthening the region’s strategic autonomy and security.

What preconditions a project such as the BHC requires was another topic discussed at the event. According to the panel, establishing an operational hydrogen infrastructure in the Baltic region has gone from being a hypothetical and visionary idea to being fully feasible. But its realization requires collaboration between business and politics.

-       I believe in hydrogen, and I think it will happen. At the Energy Agency, we expect the government to further clarify its position on hydrogen in the nearest future, said Robert Andrén.

-       This is the first time we’ve seen an example of a large-scale infrastructure capable of both storing and distributing energy, said Christer Bruzelius, about the BHC project’s hydrogen pipeline. The hydrogen infrastructure’s storage capacity will likely cause future energy prices to fall, he added.

The BHC project is currently performing technical studies and investigations into possible locations that could be suitable for constructing the projected hydrogen pipeline. It is also awaiting a response from the EU to its application for being classified as a project of common interest (PCI) and thus to be qualified to apply for EU funding.

About Almedalen

Almedalen Week takes place in Visby, Sweden each summer. It engages high-level politicians, political parties, corporates, and civil society in discussions about politics and society and includes top-level speeches from politicians in the program. Visby was a suitable location for the BHC event as the projected hydrogen infrastructure is going to be connected to the island of Gotland.

Gas transmission system operators and leading renewable energy developers investigate possibility to develop offshore hydrogen infrastructure and market in the Baltic Sea region