AGID

The consultation versions of the Long-term and Integrated Planning (LTiP) and the Coordinated Network Development Plan (CNDP) were presented at AGID 2024 by Vartan Awetisjan (AGGM), Johannes Misensky (AGGM), Claudia Kafka (Gas Connect Austria) und Thomas Höfling (TAG GmbH). The consultation was open until 29 November 2024. Once your comments have been incorporated, the LFiP and KNEP will be submitted to E-Control for approval.

LTIP and CNDP projects

As the market and distribution area manager, AGGM plans the gas infrastructure in cooperation with the gas and electricity network operators using an integrated approach that takes all energy sectors into account. The 103 projects included in the infrastructure plans will ensure the maintenance of security of supply in Austria and also set the course for the energy future. The projects ‘WAG Teil-Loop 1’ of Gas Connect Austria and ‘TAG Reverse Flow Capacity Increase’ of TAG GmbH can significantly increase import capacities from Germany and Italy. This will support the necessary diversification of supply routes from 2027.

In the scenarios analysed, a significant decline in methane transport demand must be assumed in the coming years. Nevertheless, gaseous energy sources will play a key role in a decarbonised energy system. The methane demand forecast for 2024 based on the comprehensive demand survey for 2024 is around 36 TWh; for hydrogen, the demand survey indicates an increase in demand to 41 TWh by then.

On the one hand, the success of the energy transition in the pipeline requires the ramp-up of biomethane and hydrogen production - both in Austria and internationally. On the other hand, the availability of a high-performance gas infrastructure for imports from diversified sources and for the uptake of regional production of renewable gases is absolutely essential. The decline in methane sales - which still totalled 75 TWh in 2023 - makes it possible to convert existing gas pipelines for the transport of hydrogen in a cost-efficient manner and – with the addition of H2-ready gas pipelines – to establish parallel methane and hydrogen transport networks.

H₂-Roadmap 2.0

The H₂-Roadmap was revised and presented as H₂-Roadmap 2.0 at AGID 2024 in order to take this development into account now in the planning of the gas network. By knowing exactly where hydrogen consumption and production sites will be located in the future, an optimised development path for the gas network can be identified that on the one hand,

• enables the remaining methane transport requirements to continue to be covered with a secure supply, whereby the gas grid will also play a key role in accommodating decentralised biomethane production, and on the other hand,
• ensures that the hydrogen network to be set up consists to the greatest possible extent of rededicated, adapted gas pipelines and that the proportion of new construction of hydrogen pipelines can be kept low.

The associated redimensioning of the existing gas network for methane transport and the development of the hydrogen network from the existing network will save costs for network customers for both energy sources in the long term. The redimensioning of the gas network for methane transport in figures: By 2040, 1,420 km of gas pipelines will be removed from the existing methane network and adapted for hydrogen transport; only around 730 km would need to be newly built to complete a hydrogen network. The AGGM's load flow simulations show: This network configuration ensures that both the remaining methane transport demand and the now known future hydrogen transport demand can be covered.

Although the plans of AGGM and the network operators already provide a clear picture of which infrastructure is needed where and when, there is no certainty for potential hydrogen feed-in providers and hydrogen customers to rely on the availability of these transport options, as the allocation of roles for a functioning hydrogen market has not yet been determined. The implementation of the EU gas package planned for 2025, which was adopted in spring 2024, will hopefully soon bring clarity here and also create the framework that will enable the necessary infrastructure measures to be financed. With its well-developed transport and storage infrastructure for gaseous energy sources, Austria is well positioned to establish a hub function for the emerging Central European hydrogen market, and this opportunity should definitely be seized in the interests of Austria as a business location.

Further AGID highlights

The challenges for the success of the energy transition affect all sectors. In his opening statement, Gerhard Christiner, CEO of Austrian Power Grid, emphasised the urgency of a functioning framework for the absolutely necessary expansion of the electricity grids and cross-sector infrastructure planning. In line with this, Philip Worschischek from the AGGM infrastructure team gave an exciting outlook on energy system modelling and its potential for infrastructure planning.

Franz Helm, Managing Director of Verbund Green Hydrogen GmbH, gave an insight into his impressive project portfolio. The ramp-up of hydrogen production, both regionally and internationally, is in the starting blocks, and it is important to synchronise investment decisions along the entire value chain, from hydrogen production to the hydrogen consumer. The hydrogen transport infrastructure plays a key role here and the secure availability of hydrogen transport is the necessary prerequisite for the Gordian knot to be cut.

In Germany, the development of the hydrogen infrastructure is already a few steps ahead of many other regions in Europe: the core network has been established and the financing options for the infrastructure conversion are already much more concretely defined with the amortisation account. Richard Unterseer from the German transmission system operator bayernets presented details on this.

Christian Schützenhofer from the Austrian Institute of Technology and Helmut Wernhart, Head of Department at AGGM, provided a further glimpse into the future of energy. The feasibility study on a CO2 collection and transport network in Austria was commissioned by the BMK. The results with concrete network concepts for CO₂ transport in Austria from the CO₂ sources to the CO₂ sinks provide valuable input for the further development of Austria's carbon management strategy.

What grids does the energy transition need?

In the concluding discussion panel, Wolfang Anzengruber, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Hypa - Hydrogen Partnership Austria, Andreas Drescher, Vice President Decarbonisation RHI Magnesita, Judith Neyer, Head of Strategic Energy Policy at the BMK and Stefan Wagenhofer, Managing Director of Gas Connect Austria, presented their perspectives on the challenges of the energy system transition. The takeaway from the discussion: We need to get moving in order to achieve the climate targets and keep Austria attractive as a business location. The timely transformation of the energy infrastructure is a necessary prerequisite for this. The necessary legal and regulatory framework must be established quickly across all political boundaries.

We would like to thank all the guest speakers and panel participants who made a significant contribution to the success of AGID 2024, which eclipsed all previous AGID records with 150 participants on site and 100 online participants!

Of course, all consultation documents and presentations are available for download and we are always happy to receive feedback and comments at netzplanung@aggm.at!

Speakers

• Michael Woltran | AGGM

• Gerhard Christiner | Austrian Power Grid AG

• Claudia Kafka | Gas Connect Austria

• Johannes Misensky | AGGM

• Thomas Höfling | TAG GmbH
• Vartan Awetisjan | AGGM
• Philip Worschischek | AGGM
• Franz Helm | Verbund Green Hydrogen GmbH
• Richard Unterseer | Bayernets GmbH
• Christian Schützenhofer | AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH
• Helmut Wernhart | AGGM
• Mag. Bernhard Painz | AGGM
• Wolfgang Anzengruber | HyPA Hydrogen Partnership Austria
• Stefan Wagenhofer | Gas Connect Austria GmbH
• Judith Neyer | Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology
• Andreas Drescher | RHI Magnesita