New chairwomen of EHB consortium come from Gasgrid and Enagas

December 22, 2022, by Aida Čučuk

Sara Kärki from transmission system operator (TSO) Gasgrid Finland and Maria Sicilia from TSO Enagás are the two new chairwomen of the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) consortium.

“Hydrogen is a key technology for diversifying energy supply, improving energy security and resilience of the European energy system. EHB group has shown the possibility to react to the major changes in the energy sector with forward-looking collaboration. It will be a privilege to continue the excellent EHB work together with the group and other stakeholders,” said Sara Kärki, Head of Strategic Analysis and RDI at Gasgrid Finland.

The dual appointment came after Daniel Muthmann announced that his three years-long chairmanship has come to an end.

EHB said it sees hydrogen as crucial to decarbonise industry, in particular, chemicals, iron and steel, and fuel production. Its studies have shown that there is sufficient potential to produce green and blue hydrogen for the future EU and UK energy demand.

In the past year, among many things, the consortium developed publications for hydrogen infrastructure as a response to REPowerEU and engaged relevant players across the hydrogen value chain and the European Commission on EHB Day.

Gasgrid said that it is also actively participating in international infrastructure development projects promoting the EHB vision.

It added that the aim of the projects, which support the REPowerEU target of producing 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen in the EU by 2030, is to enable hydrogen infrastructure throughout the Nordic and Baltic regions.

The projects include Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector (BHC), Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor, and Nordic Hydrogen Route.