65 European hydrogen and electrolyser projects to make up infrastructure corridors - H2 View

65 European hydrogen and electrolyser projects to make up infrastructure corridors | Policy | H2 View

65 European hydrogen and electrolyser projects are set to benefit from streamlined permitting and regulatory processes and eligibility for EU financing to make up infrastructure corridors across the continent.

The projects have been named on the first list of Europe’s Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) and Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs), as the European Commission hopes to establish hydrogen and electrolyser corridors.

Adopted today (November 28) by the Commission, the PCIs and PMIs will benefit from streamlined permitting and regulatory processes as well as becoming eligible for EU financing support from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

It comes on the same day the European Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a directive to establish common rules for internal markets on renewable and natural gases and hydrogen. (See below)

Aimed at supporting the bloc’s energy and climate goals, 166 projects were selected in total. The Commissions says it will ensure they are “swiftly completed” to contribute to doubling the EU’s grid capacity by 2030 and meeting its 42.5% renewable energy target.

The supported projects hope to form hydrogen and electrolyser corridors across the continent, enabling integrated hydrogen backbones.

Projects across three key regions, made up of a combined 15 nations, will receive PCI/PMI status to establish hydrogen infrastructure and repurpose gas infrastructure that will form the proposed backbones:

- Interconnections in Western Europe – covering Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Austria and Portugal.
- Interconnections in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe – covering Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia
- Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan in Hydrogen – covering Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland and Sweden.

The list of projects has been adopted under the revised Trans-European Networks for Energy Regulation (TEN-E) which is slated to end support for fossil fuel infrastructure.

Alongside the 65 hydrogen projects are 85 electricity, offshore and smart electricity grid projects and 14 CO2 network projects.

The inclusion of hydrogen and electrolyser projects come as a first for the schemes, as the Commission hopes the energy carrier will play a “major role” in enabling energy system integration and industry decarbonisation.

“Today’s list of cross-border projects draws the new energy map of Europe,” said Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy. “The era of EU funding for fossil fuel infrastructure is over.”

“It is now time to invest in energy infrastructure which is fit for a more flexible, decentralised and digitalised system, where consumers are also producers – and most of our energy comes from renewable sources,” she added.

Market rules for hydrogen and renewable and natural gases agreed

The Council and Parliament today (November 28) provisionally agreed on a directive to set-up common rules for the internal markets in renewable and natural gases and hydrogen.

Aimed at facilitating the penetration of renewable and natural gases into the EU’s energy system, the directive is part of the hydrogen and gas markets decarbonisation package.

The rules are hoped to create a regulatory framework for dedicated hydrogen infrastructure and markets, as well as integrated network planning, while setting rules for consumer protection.

“This agreement is a great achievement as it will boost the deployment of the emerging hydrogen sector, the transition of the gas sector towards renewable energy and it also sets rules for consumer protection and strengthens security of supply,” said Teresa Rodríguez, Third Vice-President of the Spanish Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenges.