Joint statement on the EU Grids Package: unlocking hydrogen infrastructure for Europe’s energy transition
Read the full joint statement here and the press release here.
The European Commission’s Grids Package represents an important step towards placing energy infrastructure at the core of Europe’s transition towards affordable, competitive, and secure energy. By strengthening the framework for planning, permitting, financing, and operating cross-sector energy networks, the package aims to contribute to the objectives of the Commission’s Action Plan for Affordable Energy and Europe’s broader industrial and climate ambitions.
Hydrogen infrastructure – which includes transmission, distribution and geographically confined hydrogen networks, as well as storage and terminal facilities – is a critical pillar of Europe’s decarbonised energy system. The infrastructure will also be instrumental in providing low-carbon and renewable hydrogen to industry as feedstock for current and future hydrogen users. With the right infrastructure in place, hydrogen can contribute to decarbonisation of industry and other sectors, reduce renewable electricity curtailment, support system flexibility, provide large-scale long-term energy storage and enable the integration of variable renewable energy sources across sectors, where electrification alone may be insufficient to address peak demand and system constraints.
However, unlocking this potential requires a regulatory and financial framework that fully reflects the specific characteristics and maturity level of the hydrogen sector. Indeed, hydrogen market and its underlying backbone is an emerging one that will develop progressively, combining large-scale transport infrastructure with decentralised distribution infrastructure that support early demand, system integration and market uptake.
While the co-signatories of this statement welcome the EU Grids Package, several elements require further refinement to ensure that hydrogen infrastructure can be deployed at adequate scale, at speed, and at an acceptable level of risk for investors and consumers:
- Offshore and EU-level planning: the need for a more comprehensive and inclusive approach towards hydrogen infrastructure planning
- Cross-border cost allocation (CBCA): prioritising de-risking
- Electrolyser eligibility for Projects of Common Interest (PCI) and Projects of Mutual Interest (PMI)
- Permitting: equal footing with electricity infrastructure
- Energy Highways initiative: consistent support for all hydrogen corridors
Download the full statement and the press release below.
