Hydrogen imports for long-term security of supply
In the long term, European hydrogen needs will not be met by local production alone. That is why VERBUND is working on building a diversified portfolio of import projects.
Large quantities of green hydrogen are to be generated in European states and neighbouring regions of Europe, and transport to the major European purchasing centres is to be organised via pipeline. Efforts are focused on import regions that offer cost-efficient generation conditions for renewable electricity and green hydrogen as well as existing or future infrastructure connections to core markets.
Against this backdrop, VERBUND has identified specific import corridors across various regions that it is steadily developing.
Growing demand calls for rapid action
In January 2025, cooperation agreements were concluded between Italy, Germany, Austria, Algeria and Tunisia to transport 1.9 million tons of hydrogen to Central Europe annually via the 3,300 km “SoutH2 Corridor”” – a pipeline that will link future green hydrogen production facilities in North Africa with demand centres in the Republic of Italy, the Republic of Austria, and the Federal Republic of Germany. VERBUND subsidiaries Gas Connect Austria GmbH and Trans Austria Gasleitungs GmbH, together with Italian TSO SNAM and Bavarian TSO bayernets, are part of the “SoutH2 Corridor” project. In November 2023, the European Commission added the “SoutH2 Corridor” to the 6th list of priority energy projects (PCIs), thereby accelerating approval and implementation processes. In December 2025, the European Commission reaffirmed the strategic importance of the “SoutH2 Corridor” as one of Europe’s most important hydrogen infrastructure projects. Building on the Republic of Austria’s role as a transit country for gas, redesigning the GCA’s gas network requires significant investments, although most of the existing gas network for hydrogen can be repurposed.
VERBUND is working together with TEH2, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and the EREN Groupe, on implementing the large-scale “H2 Notos” project. In the first phase, around 200,000 tons of green hydrogen will be produced annually using electrolysers that draw electricity from large-scale wind and solar projects in Tunisia.
Hydrogen Import Alliance Austria (HIAA) and Hydrogen Import Alliance Bavaria (HIBB), both initiated by VERBUND, play a key role in aggregating demand and reconciling different segments of the hydrogen value chain.
The path of green hydrogen
Importing hydrogen together with alliances as a long-term strategy
VERBUND initiated the hydrogen alliances in Austria and Bavaria. Each alliance brings together stakeholders from across the value chain: energy companies, infrastructure operators, and hydrogen buyers, who together represent a significant share of demand in the country or state. The goal of the import alliances is to enable hydrogen imports by 2030 in order to reliably and competitively meet the significant increase in demand in Austria and Bavaria in the long term. Work is therefore focussed on the structured and orchestrated ramp-up of the hydrogen import economy and solving the “chicken-and-egg” problem, which is the central challenge in developing the hydrogen economy.
Hydrogen Import Alliance Austria
The Hydrogen Import Alliance Austria (HIAA) is an amalgamation of eight leading Austrian companies with the aim of enabling hydrogen imports to Austria via pipelines by 2030, therefore being able to meet the significant increase in demand for green hydrogen in the long term. HIAA analyses the most promising export countries and transport routes to Austria and works on establishing concrete import corridors to ensure secure and diversified supply. Initiated by VERBUND in 2022, the HIAA and its member companies have expertise along the entire value chain from generating in source countries, to importing via international and national transport routes, through to use in the local economy. These companies are (in alphabetical order): AMAG Austria Metall AG, Gas Connect Austria, LAT Nitrogen Austria GmbH, OMV, RHI Magnesita, VERBUND Green Hydrogen GmbH, voestalpine AG and Wiener Stadtwerke.
Hydrogen Import Alliance Bavaria
The aim of the Hydrogen Import Alliance Bavaria (HIBB) is to drive the development of hydrogen imports into Bavaria by 2030, thereby ensuring the supply of large quantities of green hydrogen to the local industry. Partners bayernets GmbH, BAYERNOIL Raffineriegesellschaft mbH, Gas Connect Austria GmbH, Wacker Chemie AG, Westlake Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG and Verbund AG are developing a road map for establishing the value chain. For one, the development of regional hydrogen production is extremely important for Bavaria’s direct hydrogen supply. At the same time, it is important to supply highly industrialised regions that do not have sufficient renewable energy available for hydrogen production due to their geographic location via a European hydrogen network. Hydrogen transport via pipelines is the cheapest and most scalable route for imports to Bavaria. For the transport of hydrogen, existing natural gas pipelines can be converted to hydrogen pipelines efficiently and cheaply.
