A.Hak-Spiecapag joint venture chosen to build 40-inch Belgian pipeline

The A.Hak-Spiecapag joint venture has been chosen to build a 40-inch (1,000 mm) natural gas pipeline between Knokke-Heist and Evergem in Belgium. Contracted by Fluxys, a Belgian industrial group specialising in energy transmission and storage infrastructure that manages the country’s natural gas and hydrogen networks, the pipeline is designed to also transport hydrogen (H2) as soon as the market is ready.

The new pipeline will span a total of 48 km and will run parallel to an existing network of gas pipelines. Once built, it will add capacity to the Belgian natural gas grid and/or supply the new power plants coming into operation in 2025-2026. The contract will involve the use of cutting-edge trenchless technologies, including horizontal directional drilling (HDD), micro-tunnelling, and conventional drilling, to overcome obstacles while minimising the impact of operations. The project is one of three that make up the hydrogen highway between Zeebrugge and Brussels, a major infrastructure programme that aligns with the European ambition to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and contributes to the development of the European hydrogen backbone.

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