The Italian and German government have endorsed the construction of a new natural gas and hydrogen pipeline through Austria, known as the SoutH2 Corridor, to strengthen energy trade within Europe. The project, spanning 3,300 km and led by transmission system operators (TSOs) Snam, TAG, GCA, and Bayernets, aims to provide Italy, Germany, and Austria with improved access to natural gas and hydrogen at a later stage, with the pipeline connecting to the existing Trans-Mediterranean pipeline that links Italy and North Africa. The corridor, which is expected to be fully operational by 2030, has the potential to import 4 Mt/year of hydrogen from North Africa, meeting over 40% of the REPowerEU import target. Partners have already collected signed letters of support from producers intending to produce 2.5 Mt/year of renewable hydrogen.