Europe Races to Build Its Hydrogen Spine

Europe accelerates hydrogen corridors and storage as Enagas, Terega and Plug Power advance early projects

24 Nov 2025

Europe’s hydrogen vision is at last taking tangible form. After years of pilots and patchy schemes, the continent is stitching together a network of pipes and storage sites that could one day support a real market rather than isolated demonstrations.

The logic is clear enough. Building production alone will not make hydrogen competitive. Plants are appearing across the continent, yet supply will remain fragile without matching investments in transport and storage. That gap is now prodding governments and firms to advance projects that, though often still pre-construction, hint at a more ordered system.

Spain’s Enagás and France’s Terega are pushing ahead with proposed corridors, including BarMar, the centrepiece of the broader H2Med plan. The link is meant to move renewable hydrogen from sunny Iberia to Europe’s industrial north. A final investment decision is pending, but the work done so far is seen by industry watchers as early scaffolding for a continental backbone.

Storage, long the sector’s weak spot, is also taking shape. Pilot deliveries and cavern schemes are edging into operation. Plug Power has shipped equipment for Germany’s H2CAST project, a small step that underscores a larger point: large underground stores will be needed to smooth seasonal swings in renewables and keep factories and power plants supplied.

These shifts reflect a broader change in mood. Europe’s hydrogen push, once dismissed as dreamy and disjointed, now benefits from stronger alliances, deeper feasibility studies and more political cheerleading. The European Union has put cross-border links on its priority list, offering funding and regulation that make investors more willing to engage.

Obstacles persist. Permits move slowly, long-term demand forecasts look fuzzy and stitching together infrastructure across numerous countries is never simple. Still, sentiment is warming. Firms that commit early to integrated supply chains, from caverns to corridors, hope to gain an edge as the market forms.

If the pace holds, Europe may soon move beyond one-off trials and start assembling a continental network able to feed heavy industry, steady renewable-rich grids and, in time, bolster energy resilience.