GTSOU unveils plans for Ukraine’s first hydrogen pipeline

The Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) has announced plans to establish the country’s first hydrogen pipeline infrastructure facility. According to Oleksandr Gaidin, Head of GTSOU’s Strategy Department, the initial facility will most likely be one of the international interconnectors.

This first hydrogen interconnector will serve as the starting point for the development of large-scale hydrogen infrastructure along the Central European Hydrogen Corridor. It is planned to run through the Carpathians to a major junction of gas pipelines in western Ukraine.

"This hub will become a real gateway for exporting Ukrainian hydrogen to high-demand areas in the EU," GTSOU stated on its website.

The decision to launch the project will take into account the strong demand for renewable hydrogen in the European Union.

When planning the initiative, GTSOU is aligning with the new European Directives 2024/1788 and Regulation 2024/1789, which define the rules for hydrogen market operations and requirements for hydrogen system operators.

The Central European Hydrogen Corridor is a joint initiative to build a hydrogen pipeline network in Central Europe. It aims to transport hydrogen from promising production areas in Ukraine—where conditions for green hydrogen generation are highly favorable—through Slovakia and the Czech Republic to demand centers in the EU. The project partners include Ukraine’s GTS Operator, EUSTREAM (Slovakia’s transmission system operator), NET4GAS (Czech transmission system operator), and OGE (Germany’s leading transmission system operator). Hydrogen is expected to be transported using repurposed existing gas pipelines.

• Before the outbreak of the war, Ukraine had announced its intention to begin exporting hydrogen to the EU by 2024, produced from renewable energy sources.
• In 2021, gas transmission system operators in Ukraine and Slovakia began exploring the potential for repurposing pipelines for hydrogen transport, while the Czech Republic and Germany also examined similar possibilities under the concept of the Central European Hydrogen Corridor.
• In 2022, a feasibility study confirmed that a hydrogen corridor from Ukraine to Germany was viable, describing its outlook as "very positive." At the time, completion of the project was targeted for 2030.
• On November 28, 2023, the European Commission included the hydrogen corridor from Ukraine in its list of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) and Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs) for the European energy system.