Plinovodi, Gas Connect Austria and Plinacro signed a Memorandum of Understanding

At the beginning of December 2022, gas transmission system operators of Slovenia, Austria and Croatia, the companies Plinovodi, Gas Connect Austria and Plinacro, signed the Memorandum of Understanding.


 

By signing the Memorandum, gas transmission system operators reached an agreement on the continuation of the cooperation as regards the energy infrastructure development in compliance with the Regulation (EU) no. 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022, on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, which abandons fossil fuel projects and promotes projects necessary to achieve significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and climate neutrality by 2050, at the latest. 

In the Memorandum, special attention is given to the infrastructure projects connecting the transmission systems at cross-border points as well as harmonization and cooperation regarding the submission of the projects of common interest (PCI projects). 

According to the words of Mr Ivica Arar, President of the Board of Plinacro, who is one of the signatories of the mentioned Memorandum, the Croatian gas transmission system operator confirms once again to be a „flywheel“ in the development of projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and one of the leaders of companies that actively participate in achieving climate neutrality. Mr Arar pointed out that in the Memorandum parties agreed on the main guidelines for achieving proper and coordinated submission of the project of mutual interest through the harmonization of the main information and data on the potential supply sources of hydrogen to be transported in the direction Croatia - Slovenia - Austria and related to the expected development of the maximum technical capacity of hydrogen transmission, and delivery pressure, with the course of time, at each interconnection point operated by individual operators. 

By this Memorandum relevant companies agreed on the position that the expansion and development of the pipeline infrastructure for the transport of hydrogen among Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, depending on the availability of hydrogen, is of mutual interest. This Memorandum also expresses agreement that after submission of projects of mutual interest, the signatories of the Memorandum will inform each other about the further development of infrastructure projects that can transport hydrogen and about infrastructure projects connecting their transmission systems at cross-border points, and that, among other things, they will exchange relevant information on the next steps in planning and implementation.    

Furthermore, it is stated in the Memorandum that there is a possible interaction among the projects of Plinovodi, Gas Connect Austria and Plinacro submitted for the projects of common interest and ENTSOG's Ten-Year Development Plan at cross-border points connecting transmission systems and that the intention is to assess the common interest and the possibilities for cooperation on the projects connecting their systems.