EU: EU invests over €1.2 billion in cross-border infrastructure contributing to build our Energy Union and to boost competitiveness
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The Commission will allocate almost €1.25 billion in grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to 41 cross-border energy infrastructure projects, which have obtained the status of Projects of Common Interest and Projects of Mutual Interest (PCIs and PMIs) in 2024 under the Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) policy framework.
This is the largest call for proposals under the current CEF Energy programme, both in terms of applications received and funding awarded and goes beyond the call’s initial indicative budget of €850 million. It is also the first call under the revised TEN-E Regulation which includes hydrogen and offshore electricity grid projects.
As underlined by the Draghi report, such cross-border energy infrastructure investments are key to securing Europe’s competitiveness. They will contribute to the EU’s goals of integrating energy markets and decarbonising the energy system.
Selected projects
Overall, the funding is allocated for 5 works proposals and for 36 studies. Nearly €750 million of the funding is earmarked for 8 electricity grid projects including offshore and smart electricity grids. The largest grant, of €645 million, will support the Bornholm Energy Island project for the construction of an innovative, first-of-a-kind hybrid interconnector in the Baltic Sea that allows both to link Denmark and Germany and to integrate 3 GW of offshore windfarm capacity. Another grant for construction works of almost €33 million will go to Danube InGrid, a cross-border smart electricity project between Hungary and Slovakia that will integrate renewable energy and more efficiently balance the system. The other 6 projects, located in Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Slovakia, and Spain, will receive grants for support studies.
To help decarbonise EU industry, hydrogen infrastructure will benefit from grants for 21 development studies amounting to over €250 million. It will help to alleviate investment risks associated with this nascent market and complement the hydrogen policy framework introduced in the Hydrogen and decarbonised gas market package. The grants are intended for projects in Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden: notably the BarMar-H2med project between Spain and France, the backbone projects in Italy, Portugal and Spain, and the hydrogen corridors and routes in the Baltic region.
Additionally, funding worth €250 million will support the construction of 3 projects and the financing of 9 preparatory studies for CO2 infrastructure. The Prinos storage facility in Northern Greece will be awarded almost €120 million, thus contributing to the first carbon capture and storage value chain in the South-Eastern Mediterranean region. A second grant, for works worth €55 million, is destined for construction works of the North Sea L10 CO2 storage facility on the Dutch continental shelf. A third grant, for works of just below €12 million, will be awarded to the Norne CO2 facility in Denmark. CEF-funded CO2 projects are set to contribute to the 2030 target of 50 million tonnes of annual CO2 injection capacity as underlined in the Net Zero Industry Act.
Next steps
This funding decision follows the 2024 call for CEF funding. Following the Commission’s evaluation of applications, Member States gave a positive vote to the Commission’s proposal following the CEF Coordination Committee of 28 January 2025. After this positive vote, the formal adoption of the award decision will follow in the coming weeks. The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) will then prepare grant agreements with the beneficiaries. The next CEF Energy call for proposals for energy infrastructure is planned for 2025.
List of proposals selected for grants in the field of the trans-European energy infrastructure under the Connecting Europe Facility following the call for proposals launched on 11 April 2024
| Reference | Action title | Maximum EU financial assistance in EUR |
|
1.15-ES-S-M-24-LOS GUAJARES STUDIES
|
Studies for Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant “Los Guájares” | €4,620,273.00 |
| 1.7.1-ESFR-S-M-24-Navarra-Landes | Development phase for project 1.7.1 Interconnection between Navarra (ES) and Landes (FR) | €11,134,750.00 |
| 2.11-SK-S-M-24-SE Integrator | Modernization of hydro pumped storage of Čierný Váh | €2,108,461.50 |
| 4.2-BEDK-S-M-24-TritonLink | Offshore hybrid interconnector between Belgium and Denmark | €21,795,000.00 |
| 5.2-DK-W-M-24-BEI-HOI | Bornholm Energy Island – Hybrid Offshore Interconnector | €645,259,319.00 |
| 8.1-FR-S-M-24-BRE | Offshore Wind Connection South Britanny (FR) – PCI 8.1 | €21,823,852.00 |
| 12.2-BG-S-M-24-CARMEN4INVEST | Preparation of a pre-investment package of studies and documents for the implementation of CARMEN project on Bulgarian territory | €2,790,000.00 |
| 12.3-SK-W-M-24-DanubeInGrid2ndPhase | Danube InGrid: Second Phase | €32,880,153.50 |
| 9.1.1-PT-S-M-24-PT
H2 Backbone |
Portuguese Hydrogen Backbone – Studies | €2,886,437.00 |
| 9.1.2-PTES-S-M-24-H2Med CelZa | H2Med CelZa hydrogen interconnector | €7,221,872.00 |
| 9.1.3-ES-S-M-24-H2 Backbone Studies | PCI 9.1.3 – Spanish Hydrogen Backbone Studies | €32,521,202.07 |
| 9.1.4-FRES-S-M-24-H2Med BarMar | H2Med BarMar hydrogen interconnector | €28,336,978.00 |
| 9.1.5-FR-S-M-24-HY-FEN FEED PHASE | FEED Phase for the PCI H2 Corridor France – Germany connection HY-FEN | €14,985,000.00 |
| 9.2.1-DEFR-S-M-24-RHYn STUDY | French-German Rhyn HYdrogen Network Study | €3,545,465.50 |
| 9.10.2-BE-S-M-24-Amplifhy Antwerp | Proposal to co-fund pre-FEED and FEED for an first of its kind ammonia terminal and ammonia cracker in the port of Antwerp | €8,060,000.00 |
| 9.11.1-1-DE-S-M-24-Neptune | Neptune – Studies for Ammonia Reception Facility Terminal Brunsbüttel, Phase I | €11,984,611.00 |
| 9.15.4-ES-S-M-24-HyAndalusia-StudiesI | Valle Andaluz del Hidrógeno Verde Studies I | €12,931,458 |
| 9.15.5-ES-S-M-24-PICAST | Studies for the second phase of PCI ‘Asturias H2 valley electrolyser | €7,815,712.50 |
| 9.16.2-FR-S-M-24-EmilHY studies | Studies to create a green H2 power plant at the French-German border by converting of a coal-fired power plant | €20,053,791.50 |
| 9.19-DK-S-M-24-HOEST | Studies for HØST PtX Esbjerg | €12,987,437.00 |
| 9.22.1-DE-S-M-24-PSISHarP | Preparatory Studies for the Implementation of the SaltHy hydrogen storage Harsefeld Project | €4,471,750.50 |
| 9.24.1-ES-S-M-24-H2-STORAGE-N1 | Underground Hydrogen Storage Spain North-1 (PCI 9.24.1): Technical studies and permit granting
procedure to prepare the implementation of the works |
€7,709,476.00 |
| 10.1.1-IT-S-M-24-ITAHB | Italian H2 Backbone | €24,000,000.00 |
| 10.1.2-AT-S-M-24-TAGCEF | H2 Readiness of the TAG pipeline system – Conceptual Engineering & FEED preparation | €1,380,200.00 |
| 10.2.1-CZ-S-M-24-CGHI | Preparatory studies for the Czech German Hydrogen Interconnector (Czech part) | €127,000.00 |
| 10.3.1-EL-S-M-24-H2DRIA-S | Technical and environmental studies for the implementation of internal hydrogen infrastructure in Greece | €5,400,000.00 |
| 11.1-SEFI-S-M-24-NHR Studies | Nordic Hydrogen Route Feasibility and Basic Design Studies | €29,363,302.10 |
| 11.2-FIEE-S-M-24-NBHC | Feasibility Phase of Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor | €6,807,648.00 |
| 11.3-FIDE-S-M-24-BHC CEF Study | Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector CEF Study project | €15,269,850.59 |
| 13.2-FR-S-M-24-GOCO2 | FEED study phase for the Grand Ouest CO2 infrastructure | €9,260,281.00 |
| 13.2-NL-W-M-24-L10-CCS | L10-CCS | €55,319,557.00 |
| 13.5-FR-S-M-24-Rhone CO2 | Rhone CO2 | €7,535,418.00 |
| 13.6-LVLT-S-M-24-CCS Baltic | CCS Baltic Consortium | €3,020,205.00 |
| 13.7-NLDE-S-M-24-DRC CO2 | Delta Rhine Corridor_CO2: Carbon Dioxide Cross-Border Transport Studies | €9,020,087.00 |
| 13.8-BENO-S-M-24-BE-EU2NSEA | Belgium to the North Sea Cross-Border CO2 Transport Infrastructure | €13,799,574.00 |
| 13.8-DE-S-M-24-NSCC.Germany-Study | Planning and approval of the North Sea CO2 transport corridor in Germany | €2,805,595.00 |
| 13.8-DE-S-M-24-WHVCC-Study | Planning and preparation of the Wilhelmshaven CO2 transport corridor in Germany | €6,238,061.00 |
| 13.8-FRBE-S-M-24-DKHARBO 2 CO2HE | France CO2 Network connection to CO2 Highway Europe
The French CO2 transport and storage pipeline solution |
€7,690,053.50 |
| 13.10-DK-W-M-24-Norne | Norne Large-Scale CO2 Transportation Infrastructure Connecting Onshore Storage in Denmark: Construction of Quay, Receiving Terminal, and Pipeline | €11,667,000.00 |
| 13.11-EL-W-M-24-Prinos CO2 | Prinos – Offshore storage at Prinos field for emissions | €119,993,129.00 |
| 13.14-DE-S-M-24-C Zero Studies | C Zero Multimodal CO2 Hub – Studies | €3,336,780.50 |
“The Commission has proposed to allocate €1.25 billion in grants, the highest ever awarded under the Connecting Europe Facility for energy infrastructure projects making a key contribution to build our Energy Union. It is also the first time that hydrogen and offshore electricity grid projects are selected. Once completed, the successful projects will boost our efforts to decarbonise our economies and societies, integrating our energy markets and safeguarding our industry’s competitiveness.”
