Developing a new export pipeline offers the potential for Azerbaijan to export clean hydrogen at scale, APA-Economics reports citing Azerbaijan National Hydrogen Strategic Outlook Document published by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The document was published on behalf of the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and in collaboration with EBRD and "Worley Consulting Group Limited."
"As a strategic gateway between East and West, Azerbaijan is uniquely positioned to collaborate with neighbouring countries seeking to export clean hydrogen to European markets.
Leveraging our expertise from developing the Southern Gas Corridor and the possibility of utilizing existing pipeline routes provides a strong foundation for advancing this initiative. As part of our national hydrogen strategy, we will continue to work with our partners to advance studies on Green Energy Corridors and engage in active dialogue with neighbouring countries to align and synergize our hydrogen export strategies." says the document.
Theoretically, the SGC could allow Azerbaijan to export clean hydrogen by either blending with natural gas (however, recent analysis from SOCAR suggests that the technical limits for blending is from 2-6% hydrogen without significant infrastructure upgrades) or fully repurposing the pipes, although this will also take considerable investment.
Whilst technically feasible when considering the long-term gas contracts with committed volumes and the commercial challenges associated with ensuring Georgia, Türkiye, Italy and other downstream users are willing to accept the hydrogen, the use of the current SGC for exporting hydrogen is not considered feasible in the short to medium term, until the demand for natural gas declines significantly.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
