The international industry partnership H2EU+Store has completed its feasibility study. The study examined all key areas of the entire hydrogen value chain – from production and transport to potential consumption (upstream, midstream and customer demand).

The results show that green, RFNBO (Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin) compliant hydrogen can be produced on a large scale at competitive prices in western Ukraine and transported to Central Europe via existing infrastructure.

The study confirms that western Ukraine – due to its excellent wind and PV resources, sufficient water availability and access to existing transnational gas infrastructure – offers ideal conditions for the production of green hydrogen, which can be exported to European markets via existing pipelines. As the EU's eastern neighbour, western Ukraine can play a key role in the development of the European Hydrogen Backbone's eastern import corridor, making the region a strategically important location and an essential component of the European energy system's transition.

Key findings of the study:
 

• Significant production capacities:Western Ukraine, and in particular the regions (oblasts) of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, have large renewable energy sources with enormous potential for further expansion and are strategically located. This makes them among the most promising locations for the future production of green hydrogen.
• Transport via pipelines feasible and economical: Pipeline-based transport of hydrogen is by far the most cost-effective form. Ukraine has a comprehensive pipeline network that provides a direct connection to Austria and southern Germany via Slovakia, enabling it to form a central element of the EU's eastern import corridor.
• High demand: Large-scale hydrogen projects require long-term guaranteed off-take. The analyzed industrial regions– the Linz industrial cluster (Upper Austria) and ChemDelta Bavaria (southern Germany) – have the corresponding demand potential.

"The results confirm our assumptions: green hydrogen from western Ukraine can become a central component of Europe's hydrogen demand," emphasises Markus Kainz, Project Director of H2EU+Store. "We are thus laying the foundation for a secure, sustainable energy supply while strengthening the independence of Europe and Ukraine." 

"That is why we have already begun the technical planning of an initial hydrogen production project for export to Austria and southern Germany," adds Tatjana Weilert, Project Director Business Development of H2EU+Store."The project already has secured land in the Lviv Oblast to start implementation – the first step will be an annual production of approximately 9,000 tonnes of green hydrogen."

The feasibility study forms the basis for the next project phase: the development of hydrogen production capacities in western Ukraine and the integration of Ukraine into the eastern corridor of the European Hydrogen Backbone. This marks an important step towards the market ramp-up of hydrogen.

About H2EU+Store

H2EU+Store is an international partnership of leading energy companies such as the initiators RAG Austria and Eco-Optima, as well as other project members Bayerngas, bayernets, eustream, Gas Connect Austria, MND, NAFTA and Open Grid Europe, which has set itself the goal of accelerating the market ramp-up of green hydrogen in Europe.