European relevance of the hydrogen pipeline project confirmed. Opportunity for access to funding instruments created.   

On November 28, 2023, the European Commission published the final list of “Projects of Common Interest” (PCI) and confirmed the corresponding status for the AquaDuctus offshore pipeline. The PCI list comprises a total of 166 projects, including 65 in the field of hydrogen and electrolysers. The initiators of the project, the transmission system operators GASCADE and Fluxys, welcome the positive decision and see it as confirmation of the crucial importance of AquaDuctus for the rapid development of a European hydrogen infrastructure.

PCI projects must fulfil exactly this requirement and, after application, are subjected to a cost-benefit analysis by the European Commission. Such projects are important infrastructure projects that contribute to the completion of the European internal energy market and to the achievement of the European Union’s energy and climate policy goals. In order to support project implementation, PCI status enables access to public funding instruments.

Furthermore, AquaDuctus is already part of the draft of the German hydrogen core grid presented in mid-November 2023. First transport capacities of the newly to be built AquaDuctus offshore pipeline are to be available from 2030 in order to tap into the hydrogen potential in the North Sea. The project will therefore play a key role in the efficient and sustainable supply of hydrogen to Germany.