Franco-Belgian Hydrogen: Border Cooperation

The Franco-Belgian hydrogen network is the subject of a call for tenders for the creation of a transmission network launched by GRTgaz and Fluxys. The two managers now plan to launch a feasibility study.

Industry shows interest

The first Franco-Belgian hydrogen corridor seems to be taking shape. Seventeen companies have expressed interest in connecting their consumption or production sites to the network project. Indeed, these seventeen companies represent a total production capacity ranging from 300MW to 600MW.

Depending on the variants considered, the associated hydrogen consumption could be between 1.5 and 3TWh/year. This cooperation between the two counterparts is part of the assessment of hydrogen transportation needs and market players. Pascal De Buck, CEO of Fluxys says:

“We are delighted to continue the partnership we started with GRTgaz to create a cross-border hydrogen network. This is indeed perfectly in line with our overall approach to create a hydrogen backbone at the European level.”

Feasibility study

The in-depth exchanges with the various participants allowed us to qualify and identify the region’s hydrogen ecosystem. Indeed, the typology of the companies is variable with production projects of different sizes. Thierry Trouvé, Managing Director of GRTgaz, explains:

“This Call for Expressions of Interest was a real success, and project leaders were strongly mobilized. This confirms our approach to developing shared hydrogen transport infrastructures, open to all in a continuous dialogue with the market players.”

Fluxys Belgium and GRTgaz have therefore decided to launch the feasibility study for the Franco-Belgian hydrogen transmission system in October 2022. The purpose of this study will be to establish the sizing of the infrastructure as well as an initial cost evaluation. The results of this feasibility study will be available in the first quarter of 2023.