The European Commission will allocate nearly €650 million in Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) grants to 14 cross-border energy infrastructure projects across the European Union, aiming to strengthen energy security and support the integration of renewable power, the Commission said.
For the first time, CEF funding will also be used to protect critical energy infrastructure and to support hydrogen works projects, reflecting what the Commission described as the growing maturity of Europe’s hydrogen sector.
Six electricity and smart grid projects will receive almost €470 million of the total. Spain’s Aguayo II reversible pumped-storage hydropower plant will secure €180.03 million, while €112.58 million will be directed to resilience and protection measures in Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as part of the Baltic Synchronisation programme.
Slovakia’s Čierný Váh modernisation project, combining pumped hydro with battery energy storage, will receive €62.63 million. Almost €103.69 million has been earmarked for a Bulgaria–Romania smart grids initiative to upgrade and digitalise networks to enable secure cross-border renewable electricity flows.
Two additional electricity proposals — an internal Austrian grid link and the Greece–Egypt GREGY interconnector — will receive funding for preparatory studies.
More than €176 million will be allocated to hydrogen infrastructure, led by €120.11 million for an underground hydrogen storage project in Gronau-Epe, Germany, which will become the first hydrogen works scheme financed under the CEF. Further hydrogen studies in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Slovakia have also been selected.
EU member states endorsed the award proposal on Jan. 15, with formal adoption expected in the coming weeks, after which the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) will prepare grant agreements.
“A strong and independent Energy Union which delivers clean and cheap energy to consumers must be built on integrated and safe energy infrastructure,” said EU energy and housing commissioner Dan Jørgensen.
“The projects we are supporting financially will enhance Europe’s competitiveness and energy security, bringing us on a steady pathway towards independence,” he added.
