European Grids Package: A Technology-Neutral & Integrated Energy System

Read the full position paper here.

The European Grids Package represents an important step toward strengthening Europe’s energy infrastructure and enabling energy transition. Accelerating infrastructure deployment, improving cross-border coordination and strengthening infrastructure planning will be essential to deliver decarbonisation, affordability and security of supply.

In this context, Europe’s future energy system will be built on multiple energy vectors, including renewable and low-carbon gases, such as biomethane and hydrogen, and CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure. Infrastructure frameworks must therefore remain technology-neutral and system-oriented, enabling the most efficient solutions across sectors and regions.

By promoting technology-neutral permitting frameworks, balanced infrastructure planning and governance under TEN-E, and support for hydrogen, renewable and low-carbon gases, and CO₂ infrastructure, the Grids Package can contribute to delivering a resilient, affordable and secure European energy system while enabling the gradual decarbonisation of Europe’s economy.

Leveraging the complementarity between renewable molecules and electrons will be essential to deliver a secure, competitive and affordable European energy system.

Eurogas supports the objectives of the package and calls for targeted improvements:

Align Permitting Across All Energy Vectors

• Replicate electricity permitting acceleration measures across energy carriers (Art. 8)
• Ensure equal permitting treatment for hydrogen storage infrastructure (Art. 16h)

Strengthen TEN-E for a balanced and responsive infrastructure planning 

• Ensure balanced operator participation in EU energy system planning (Art. 11)
• Maintain shorter and responsive infrastructure planning cycles (Art. 11)
• Ensure proportionate eligibility criteria for hydrogen projects under TEN-E (Annex II)
• Simplify procedures for existing PCI and PMI projects on the Union List (Annex III)
• Support the development of hydrogen infrastructure, including repurposed gas assets (Art. 2(17))
• Adapt permitting arrangements for multi-country CO₂ infrastructure projects under TEN-E (Art. 8)
• Support the development of CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure under TEN-E