In the efforts to create a hydrogen supply chain for Europe, a lot of focus is being put by policy makers and project developers on imports and connecting countries by building the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) transmission system. However recent research carried out by the Ready4H2 project shows that unless the distribution gas grids are ready to accept hydrogen at the same time as the transmission system, the majority of the hydrogen will not be able to flow to the end users that need it most - industry, transportation and power. The distribution grids will be needed to transport 100% of hydrogen demanded by buildings (due to safety regulations), over 70% to industry (large, medium and small) and (due to the large distances between stations) over 30% to refuel stations for heavy transportation. The presentation will share the results of the study.

It is clear that in many cases the existing grids will need to be repurposed from natural gas to hydrogen, due to logistics, cost and the desire to decarbonise as fast as possible. This is a relatively straightforward process and costs a fraction of the cost of new-build. The results of the 2025 cost study on repurposing will be shared, a swell as an overview of the conversion process itself.

In 2022 the Ready4H2 project developed a Transformation Roadmap, to guide gas DSOs on how to become hydrogen-ready. In 2025, the 60+ DSO members of Ready4H2 ranked themselves against the nine areas of the roadmap and demonstrated that they are indeed well underway in the transformation process. Details will be shared, as the challenges and regulatory needs to support the conversion process.

The presentation will provide a practical overview of what is being done to develop gas distribution grids for hydrogen in the future.