The Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector (BHC) held its first networking event in Helsinki on 8 June, bringing hydrogen producers from Finland and the Baltic region together with Central European midstream companies. The aim was practical: to start matching future supply with future demand long before any pipeline is built.
The event was organised by the BHC project team with project supporters SEFE and VERBUND. Rather than a stage and panels, it used a speed-dating format in which producers and midstreamers worked through project status, realistic timelines, key uncertainties and the signals each side needs to take the next development steps. On one side were companies developing hydrogen projects and seeking access to European demand; on the other, midstreamers exploring how Finnish and Baltic hydrogen could reach industrial demand centres through a direct pipeline.
Short contributions came from Olli Sipilä, chief executive of Gasgrid; Mogens Holm of Boston Consulting Group; Markku Kivistö of Business Finland; and Antti Ritala of the state investment company Tesi. H2Global ran a workshop on its new pipeline concept.
The organisers’ argument is that cross-border hydrogen corridors will not be built by infrastructure alone – they need producers, buyers, investors and developers to share a view of what has to happen in parallel, and when. If each side waits for the other to commit first, the market never forms. The physical connection remains the long-term goal, but the BHC’s point is that the commercial connection between supply and demand has to come first.
