EU to fast-track 65 hydrogen projects after signing energy infrastructure list into law

The sixth PCI/PMI list includes 65 H2 developments, including electrolysers, pipelines and import terminals — although at least one has already been scrapped

Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for energy.Photo: Valentine Zeler/European Union

Polly Martin

Senior Reporter

The EU’s sixth list of projects of common or mutual interest (PCI/PMI) has been signed into law today (Monday), making 65 hydrogen projects eligible for faster permits and extra grants.

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A PCI (energy infrastructure linking two or more EU member states) or PMI (between EU and non-EU countries) is given a binding three-and-a-half-year time limit on permitting.

The developers of projects on the list can also tap the €5.84bn energy provision in the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility for funds — or the host member states for extra investment.

This sixth list is the first to include hydrogen projects (listed below), such as H₂ pipelines, electrolysers, ammonia or liquid hydrogen terminals, and storage infrastructure.

These include the French-German MosaHYc pipeline, for which French gas transmission system operator (TSO) GRTGaz hinted in February it would soon take a final investment decision, as well as the Spanish-French subsea interconnection BarMar, for which Spanish TSO Enagás slashed its shareholder dividends by 42.5% earlier this year to fund.

However, at least one of these projects — an electrolyser for H2Sines.Rdam — has already been scrapped by its developers due to a lack of economic viability.

The list, which had been proposed by the European Commission in November last year, had been controversial among environmental groups due to its inclusion of pipelines that would primarily carry fossil gas, such as EastMed and Melita, and it survived a vote to scrap the proposal in European Parliament last month.

With no veto from the EU's council of ministers either, the list has now been signed into the EU’s official journal and will come into effect in 20 days.

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Hydrogen projects in the sixth PCI/PMI list

Hydrogen interconnections in Western Europe (HI West):

Projects of common interest developed in the region:

9.1 Corridor Portugal – Spain – France – Germany:

9.1.1 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Portugal
9.1.2 Hydrogen interconnector Portugal – Spain
9.1.3 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Spain
9.1.4 Hydrogen interconnector Spain – France [currently known as BarMar]
9.1.5 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in France connecting to Germany [currently known as HyFen]
9.1.6 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Germany connecting to France [currently known as H2Hercules South]

9.2 France – Germany cross-border hydrogen valleys:

9.2.1 Hydrogen valley in Germany to the French border [currently known as RHYn]
9.2.2 Hydrogen valley in France to the German border [currently known as Mosahyc]

9.3 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in France to the Belgium border [currently known as Franco-Belgian H2 corridor]

9.4 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Germany [currently known as H2ercules West]

9.5 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Belgium [currently known as Belgian Hydrogen Backbone]

9.6 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in the Netherlands [currently known as National Hydrogen Backbone]

9.7 Hydrogen interconnectors National Hydrogen Backbone (NL) – Germany:

9.7.1 Hydrogen interconnector from the North-South backbone in East to Oude (NL) - H2ercules North (DE)
9.7.2 Hydrogen interconnector from the North-South backbone in East to Vlieghuis (NL) – Vlieghuis – Ochtrup (DE)
9.7.3 Hydrogen interconnector from Netherlands to Germany (currently known as Delta Rhine Corridor H2)

9.8 Offshore hydrogen pipeline Germany [currently known as AquaDuctus]

9.9 Hydrogen interconnector Denmark – Germany:

9.9.1 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Germany [currently known as HyperLink III]
9.9.2 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Denmark [currently known as DK Hydrogen Pipeline West]

9.10 Ammonia reception facilities [import terminals] in Belgium:

9.10.1 Ammonia reception facility Antwerp
9.10.2 Ammonia reception facility Amplifhy Antwerp
9.10.3 Zeebrugge New Molecules development ammonia reception facility

9.11 Ammonia reception facilities in Germany:

9.11.1 Ammonia reception facility terminal Brunsbüttel
9.11.2 Ammonia reception facility Wilhelmshaven (BP)
9.11.3 Ammonia reception facility Wilhelmshaven (Uniper)

9.12 Reception facilities in the Netherlands:

9.12.1 Rotterdam LH2 reception facility
9.12.2 Ammonia reception facility Amplifhy Rotterdam
9.12.3 Ammonia reception facility ACE Rotterdam

9.13 Ammonia reception facility Dunkerque (FR)

9.14 H2Sines.RDAM electrolyser (PT)

9.15 Electrolyser facilities in Spain:

9.15.1 Tarragona hydrogen network electrolyser
9.15.2 Bilbao large scale electrolyser
9.15.3 Cartagena large scale electrolyser
9.15.4 Valle andaluz del hidrógeno verde electrolyser
9.15.5 Asturias H2 valley electrolyser

9.16 Electrolyser facilities in France:

9.16.1 CarlHYng electrolyser
9.16.2 Emil’Hy electrolyser
9.16.3 HyGreen electrolyser
9.16.4 H2V Valenciennes electrolyser
9.16.5 H2Thionville electrolyser

9.17 Electrolyser facilities in the Netherlands:

9.17.1 Enecolyser electrolyser
9.17.2 H2-Fifty electrolyser
9.17.3 SeaH2Land electrolyser

9.18 Electrolyser facilities in the Germany:

9.18.1 GreenWilhelmshaven electrolyser
9.18.2 CHC Wilhelmshaven electrolyser

9.19 Jytske Banke electrolyser (DK)

9.20 Danish Hydrogen Storage (DK)

9.21 Hystock Opslag H2 storage (NL)

9.22 Hydrogen storages in Germany:

9.22.1 Salthy hydrogen storage Harsefeld
9.22.2 H2 Storage Gronau-Epe

9.23 Storage GeoH2 (FR)

9.24 Hydrogen storages in Spain:

9.24.1 H2 storage North – 1
9.24.2 H2 storage North – 2

Projects of mutual interest developed in the region:

9.25 Offshore hydrogen pipeline Norway – Germany [currently known as CHE Pipeline]

Hydrogen interconnections in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe (HI East):

Projects of common interest developed in the region:

10.1 Hydrogen corridor Italy – Austria – Germany:

10.1.1 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Italy [currently known as Italian H2 Backbone]
10.1.2 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Austria [currently knowns as H2 Readiness of the TAG pipeline system]
10.1.3 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Austria [currently known as H2 Backbone WAG and Penta West]
10.1.4 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Germany [currently knowns as HyPipe Bavaria – The Hydrogen Hub

10.2 Hydrogen interconnector between Czechia and Germany:

10.2.1 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Czechia towards Germany
10.2.2 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Germany [currently known as FLOW East - Making Hydrogen Happen]

10.3 Hydrogen interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria:

10.3.1 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Greece towards the Bulgarian border
10.3.2 Internal hydrogen infrastructure in Bulgaria towards the Greece border

10.4 Generic corridor aiming to transmit hydrogen from Ukraine to Slovakia, Czechia, Austria and Germany

Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan in hydrogen (BEMIP Hydrogen):

Projects of common interest developed in the region:

11.1 Hydrogen interconnector between Sweden and Finland [currently known as Nordic Hydrogen Route – Bothnian Bay]

11.2 Hydrogen interconnector between Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany [currently known as Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor]

11.3 Hydrogen interconnector between Sweden, Finland and Germany [currently known as the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector]

EU to fast-track 65 hydrogen projects after signing energy infrastructure list into law

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Hydrogen projects in the sixth PCI/PMI list