Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor
The Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor is a hydrogen transmission infrastructure project that would enable the transport of hydrogen via a pipeline in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany.
Parties to the project are six gas system operators: Gasgrid, (Finland), Elering (Estonia), Conexus Baltic Grid (Latvia), Amber Grid (Lithuania), Gaz System (Poland), and ONTRAS (Germany).
The Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor will enable the connection of hydrogen production, consumption and storage points in the Baltic Sea region, establishing a common regional hydrogen system and market.
News Estonia's hydrogen infrastructure survey
Non-binding CALL FOR INTEREST for NBHC development - Open until 14.04.2026
Why is the hydrogen corridor needed
A new and so far little-known topic has entered the development of Estonia’s energy system – hydrogen. Just as electricity and gas networks have been built over the years, attention is now turning to future solutions that will connect Estonia more closely with the European energy system. One such initiative is the Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor – a large-scale international cooperation project in which Elering also participates.
In recent years, European energy policy has undergone a significant shift. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis clearly demonstrated how vulnerable an energy system can be when it depends on individual suppliers or supply chains. As a result, one of the European Union’s key objectives is to diversify energy sources, strengthen cross-border connections, and develop infrastructure that allows energy to be flexibly directed to where it is needed at any given moment. From this perspective, hydrogen infrastructure is an important component of strengthening Europe’s energy security.
At the end of 2025, Elering submitted an application to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to initiate a national spatial planning process for the Estonian section of the hydrogen corridor. It is important to emphasize that no decisions have yet been made regarding the construction of the pipeline or the location of a specific route corridor – only during the planning process will a location for the hydrogen corridor be sought through a thorough and public assessment of various options.
During the planning process, it will be determined whether, and under what conditions, it would be reasonable to build an underground hydrogen transmission pipeline on Estonian territory connecting Finland and Germany. As part of this, Estonia would gain access to the pipeline, providing potential economic and strategic value. The expected duration of the planning process is up to three years. Construction of the route would create the necessary preconditions for connecting Estonia to the Nordic and Central European hydrogen market and would strengthen our energy security and security of supply. The new infrastructure would open up new investment opportunities in both the energy sector and industry.
.png)
Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor
Project stages
The pre-feasibility study conclusions
The Nordic and Baltic region has significant renewable hydrogen potential identified within the pre-feasibility study at approx. 27.1 million tons of renewable hydrogen production (based on combined onshore and offshore wind and solar power) by 2040. This provides a great opportunity for hydrogen market creation and export potential towards continental Europe that is to be addressed by the NBHC.
By 2040, the Corridor is projected to annually transport up to 2.7 million tons of renewable hydrogen to the countries along its route. The pre-feasibility study indicated that the NBHC can be one of the first operational cross-border hydrogen pipelines in Europe. The NBHC pipeline is currently planned to be 48 inches (1,200 mm) in diameter and approx. 2,500 km in length.
The feasibility study
Based on the pre-feasibility study results, in the second half of 2024 the Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor project partners have commenced work on the feasibility study covering detailed analysis of the technical, commercial and economic aspects of the project.
Further steps
The results will determine further steps in the project implementation and future perspectives for the construction of a new cross-border hydrogen corridor.
Strategically crucial for the future of EU energy infrastructure – Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor receives CEF funding
The project promoters of the Nordic Baltic Hydrogen Corridor (NBHC) Finland’s Gasgrid vetyverkot Oy, Estonia’s Elering, Latvia’s Conexus Baltic Grid, Lithuania’s Amber Grid, Poland’s GAZ-SYSTEM, Germany’s ONTRAS and the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) signed a grant agreement for the European Union (EU) financial support to the NBHC on 1st of July, 2025.
European projects of common interest announced on 28 November 2023
Co-Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.