EU to waste billions on hydrogen pipelines in new PCI list, warns experts

The experts warn that if these projects materialise, they will entrench Europe’s reliance on fossil gas and  undermine the EU’s decarbonisation effort.

The European Union’s latest Projects of Common Interests (PCI) and Projects of Mutual Interests (PMI) list— lists of cross-border energy infrastructure projects designated by the European Commission as crucial for energy and climate goals— is set to include over a hundred hydrogen projects— twice as many as in the previous PCI list, according to the CEE Bankwatch Network. 

According to the network’s analysis, roughly 75% of these pipelines are intended to pump fossil gas-based hydrogen. The analysis further noted that if these projects materialise, they will entrench Europe’s reliance on fossil gas and, hence, undermine the EU’s decarbonisation effort. 

Proposed Hydrogen Projects are Inexpensive and Short Global Supply

Food and Water Action’s analysis said that the total investment for the proposed hydrogen projects exceeds £80 billion, not including the substantial subsidies that will be required to create the demand for the hydrogen, and over 90% of the proposed hydrogen pipelines are promoted by members of ENTSO-G: Europe’s fossil gas transmission lobby. ENTSO-G helps shape the EU’s energy infrastructure priorities. 

Experts have said that the hydrogen pipeline will not be cost-effective for the EU. David Cebon, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cambridge, co-founder of the Hydrogen Science Coalition, said, “Clean hydrogen is eye-wateringly expensive and will remain in short global supply for the foreseeable future. It must be reserved for high-priority uses without other decarbonisation options. This means that hydrogen will be produced and used locally in industrial clusters, with minimal long-distance pipeline infrastructure.” 

The analysis also mentioned that no evidence shows that Europe needs a large-scale hydrogen network. In fact, the EU’s Agency for Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) questioned the credibility and robustness of the process and reiterated its call for greater transparency in the selection of energy infrastructure projects. 

Paul Martin, chemical engineer, co-founder of the Hydrogen Science Coalition expert group, said, “Though the pipelines on this list may be built to transport hydrogen, it is most likely that they will never transport anything but natural gas. With major uncertainty and sluggish development plaguing the clean hydrogen market, most projects at best plan to transport hydrogen produced from fossil fuels, rather than green hydrogen made from renewable energy.” 

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