During the tri-national conference “Green hydrogen: flagship projects and prospects in the Upper Rhine” on April 5, 2022 in Basel, GRTgaz announced the launch of a second project to convert the natural gas transmission network to hydrogen.
Located in Alsace and called RHYn (Rhine HYdrogen Network), this project aims to promote the hydrogen ecosystem of the Upper Rhine by connecting the Dessenheim area with the Chalampé-Ottmarsheim industrial area by 2028, as well as the agglomeration of Mulhouse for its needs in terms of mobility.
In subsequent phases, this network may extend to the south towards Basel in order to supply the airport area and to the north towards Marckolsheim to supply its industrial sites.
In accordance with its commitment to energy transition, with an objective of environmental and economic performance, GRTgaz plans to maximize the reuse of existing natural gas pipelines: out of a total of 100 km of hydrogen network, at least 60 km will come from pipelines converted. The pipeline will have the capacity to transport 125,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year, the equivalent of the production of 900 MW of electrolysis and could allow the reduction of carbon emissions up to 1 million tonnes of CO 2 per year.
The RHYn project contributes to the deployment of energy transition policies in the Grand Est region and to the strengthening of its economic and industrial attractiveness. It brings new opportunities for the decarbonization of local industry and paves the way for the effective deployment of all modes of green mobility as envisaged by the Hydrogen Strategy for the Grand Est.
RHYn is part of the vision of the European Hydrogen Backbone 1 , the European backbone aimed at ensuring security of supply for hydrogen consumers and the creation of a common European market. In this context, GRTgaz will study possible interconnections with the regions of Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Basel in Switzerland.
GRTgaz fully participates in the emergence of a future hydrogen market. In France, the company foresees the development of a network of approximately 1,000 km of hydrogen by 2030, on the one hand, by new pipelines, and on the other hand, by the conversion of a part of the current gas network. The most advanced project, mosaHYc, aims to develop the first European hydrogen network by converting gas pipelines between Moselle, Saarland and Luxembourg.
1 European Hydrogen Backbone or European hydrogen backbone project bringing together 23 gas transmission system operators (TSOs) from 21 European countries: the latest report published in this context confirms the possibility of a pan-European hydrogen infrastructure based in particular on existing gas infrastructures converted. This study presents a hydrogen pipeline network of nearly 40,000 km by 2040.
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