The development of the ENNOH and ENTSOG report outlining the criteria required for repurposing natural gas infrastructure was initiated by the conclusions of the 10th Energy Infrastructure Forum in Copenhagen in June 2024, with finalisation of the report based on the conclusions of the Forum in June 2025.
There are numerous advantages of repurposing existing infrastructure, such as substantially reduced costs, increased social acceptance, reduced environmental impact and a more efficient permitting process in comparison to the construction of new pipelines. It is beneficial to clearly outline these advantages and assess the criteria that should be considered for repurposing.
The scope of this report was defined by the European Commission to provide guidance and to outline boundaries for the two co-writing organisations as per the diagram below. In particular, aspects related to asset valuation and asset transfers fall outside the scope of this report and will be addressed in future workstreams, notwithstanding the fundamental role of such criteria to make repurposing practically possible. Indeed, repurposing of gas assets with a clear regulatory framework applied to the hydrogen sector can happen only if also hydrogen infrastructure operators have certainty that the regulatory conditions provide at least an equivalent degree of stability and financial attractiveness as the gas sector, including an appropriate guarantee of a fair transfer value.
The final report ENNOH and ENTSOG report on Criteria for Natural Gas Infrastructure Repurposing is available here.