Europe's way from natural gas to green hydrogen: Modeling and simulation of the transforming European gas transport infrastructure

Achieving the EU's 2050 climate neutrality target requires rapid energy system transformation, with hydrogen expected to play a central role. This study presents a high-resolution modeling framework to support the transition of Europe's natural gas infrastructure into a cost-efficient hydrogen network while maintaining residual gas transport capabilities. Using the Steiner tree algorithm, optimized hydrogen network topologies were derived by repurposing existing pipelines and selectively building new corridors. Scenario data were spatially and temporally disaggregated to NUTS-3 and hourly resolution. Fluid-dynamic simulations for 2030, 2040, and 2050 validate the technical feasibility and identify infrastructure bottlenecks. Results show that by 2040, 98 % of the projected 38,000 km hydrogen network can be repurposed infrastructure, requiring an estimated €72.5 billion investment by 2050. The proposed methodology enables scalable and adaptive planning and offers critical insights into hydrogen corridor prioritization, infrastructure phasing, and cross-border coordination, supporting policy and investment decisions across the EU energy landscape. • High-res EU hydrogen network modeled for 2030–2050 using scenario-based data. • Developed an open data European hydrogen and natural gas network topology. • 98 % of 2040 hydrogen network uses repurposed natural gas pipelines. • Co-simulation ensures compatibility of hydrogen and residual gas networks. • €72.5 bn investment enables hydrogen transition with gas network co-existence.