The Nordic Hydrogen Route has been launched by Gasgrid Finland and Nordion Energi.
The goal of this initiative is to promote decarbonization, regional green industrialization, economic development, and European energy independence. Nordic Hydrogen Route will accelerate the creation of a hydrogen economy and new investments to support European energy transition and increase access to green and competitive domestic energy by building a cross-border hydrogen infrastructure in the Bothnian Bay region and an open hydrogen market by 2030.
The companies want to build a pipeline network that will effectively transport energy from producers to consumers, ensuring that they have access to an open, reliable, and safe hydrogen market. An integrated energy infrastructure would connect customers from hydrogen and e-fuels producers to steelmakers who are eager to create new value chains and products while also decarbonizing their operations.
Regional demand for hydrogen is expected to exceed 30 TWh by 2030 and reach around 65 TWh by 2050, with much of this hydrogen produced using the Bay’s abundant onshore and offshore wind. This output would allow for the construction of more than 20,000 MW of wind power capacity.
The Nordic Hydrogen Route would connect production and demand sites via a pipeline that would run along the Bothnian Bay coastline, with major branches to expected demand centers such as Gällivare and Kiruna. The infrastructure is expected to be operational by 2030, with a total length of around 1000 km. The concept will be developed in collaboration with stakeholders from all stages of the value chain.
The Nordic Hydrogen Route capitalizes on a growing consensus, reflected in recent EU policy frameworks, that hydrogen infrastructure planning must include integrated, cross–border connections between neighboring countries to maximize decarbonization potential.
