Tubos Reunidos Group is making progress in its strategy to promote the decarbonisation of industry. After becoming the first producer in the world to manufacture seamless tubes with zero net emissions, it is now developing tubes capable of distributing hydrogen, a key energy source for the energy transition towards a clean energy model.
The development of these innovative tubes is part of a project called H2Bidea, whose objective is to create technological solutions for the deployment of a new network suitable for the transport and/or distribution of pure hydrogen and to promote green hydrogen valleys and industrial decarbonisation.
Behind the project is a Basque business consortium led by Nortegas and formed, in addition to Tubos Reunidos, by Arizaga, Bastarrica y Compañía (ABC Compressors), Orkli, , Comercial de Aplicaciones Electrónicas (Fidegas) and Calcinor Servicios. H2Bidea is based on the Basque Hydrogen Corridor BH2C and has the support of the Basque Government, through its business R&D support programme Hazitek, and the European Union.
Industry and consumption as a strategic axis
H2Bidea is based on a strategy that places the end user at the centre, considering that the definitive take-off of the hydrogen economy will come precisely from consumption. In order for end users, both industry and consumers, to be able to use hydrogen, it is necessary to develop solutions and optimise its transport and availability. But there are currently no distribution networks for pure hydrogen. Infrastructures are therefore of strategic importance as a vehicle for safely interconnecting generation and consumption, and thus accompanying the evaluation of green hydrogen generation projects.
According to Jon Bikandi, R&D Director at Tubos Reunidos, ‘We are immersed in a process of continuous improvement that involves the entire organisation in order to make our processes and products more sustainable’. He highlights the launch last year of O-Next®, the first zero-emission seamless pipe on the market, the first tonnes of which have already been produced and delivered to a total of 6 European companies. He explains that ‘we are now developing carbon steel piping that allows the distribution of 100% hydrogen up to 160 bar. There are currently no networks that allow this type of distribution. With these projects, we demonstrate that it is possible to reduce the carbon footprint of our products and, at the same time, be a lever in the decarbonisation of the industry, achieving a green value chain for companies’.
The project started in 2024 and will last almost three years, at the end of which the H2TESTLAB 100% hydrogen distribution network demonstrator is expected to be available. This will consist of a dynamic circuit designed to assess the damage tolerance of all components developed to operate on pure hydrogen.
About Tubos Reunidos
Tubos Reunidos has production centres in Alava, Bizkaia and Texas; and has a commercial presence in more than 50 countries through sales agents and offices in Germany, Italy, Korea, China, Dubai and the United States. In 2024 it closed the year with a turnover of 324 million euros and a workforce of 1,400 professionals.
Tubos Reunidos is a global steel group specialising in the manufacture of seamless steel tubes for strategic sectors such as bioenergy, geothermal energy, solar and wind energy, nuclear energy, carbon capture, oil and gas, as well as automotive, construction and engineering and hydrogen generation.
Tubos Reunidos is the first seamless steel tube manufacturer to produce a Net-Zero steel tube, reaffirming its commitment to the transition to a low-carbon economy.
