Europe selects electricity cross-border infrastructure

Brussels,

EUROPEAN ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE

Europe selects new electricity cross-border infrastructure

The European Commission has launched the selection of strategic cross-border electricity projects that will shape Europe’s grids, storage capacity and energy security through the end of the decade.
Deadlines: 30 September, 13 November and 4 December 2026

Cross-border electricity transmission network connecting renewable energy infrastructure across Europe

Europe has opened the next contest for strategic cross-border energy infrastructure. The projects selected will help determine where grids, storage, hydrogen and CO₂ networks receive regulatory priority through the end of the decade.

By eEuropa · Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Brussels, 22 September 2026

The European Commission has launched the selection process for the third Union list of Projects of Common Interest and Projects of Mutual Interest under the revised TEN-E framework. Applications cover electricity transmission and storage, smart grids, hydrogen, electrolysers and cross-border carbon dioxide networks.

The exercise is more than a competition for an EU label. Selected projects can benefit from streamlined permitting, stronger regulatory coordination and potential eligibility for support under the Connecting Europe Facility.

The timetable is already moving. Different infrastructure categories face different application deadlines in autumn 2026, while the final list is expected to be adopted through a delegated act in late 2027. The choices will reveal which bottlenecks Europe considers most urgent as electricity demand, renewable generation and cross-border exchanges grow.

For governments, grid operators, investors and industrial users, the new round provides an early map of the corridors and technologies likely to shape Europe’s next infrastructure cycle. It also exposes the difficult balance between national priorities, regional integration and system-wide resilience.

The full analysis examines the selection calendar, the strategic value of cross-border electricity projects and the implications for storage, permitting and investment.

eEuropa Energy Intelligence

Electricity Storage in Europe

Economic case, strategic limits, market risks and State aid

EU governments are accelerating support for electricity storage—but the scale of public aid, dependence on foreign suppliers and the different economic roles of short- and long-duration storage raise important questions for investors, operators and public authorities.

€22bn+

in specifically identifiable national electricity-storage schemes authorised by the European Commission

52%

of EU Member States’ battery imports came from outside the European Union in 2022–2024

€300tn+

theoretical cost of replacing Europe’s gas-storage capacity and emergency oil stocks with batteries

Two complementary ELSTOR products

The eDossier examines technologies, costs, market structure, industrial dependencies and the strategic limits of electricity storage. The eBriefing provides a focused country-by-country overview of State aid schemes, public budgets, planned capacity, supported technologies and national implementation, with links to official sources for continuing updates.

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eDossier: technologies, costs, market structure and strategic choices
eBriefing: State aid schemes, funding, capacity, national implementation and official updates

Figures are indicative. The €22bn total refers to the authorised budgets or estimated support volumes of specifically identifiable national electricity-storage schemes, not necessarily to aid already disbursed. The 52% figure covers total battery imports, not stationary-storage batteries alone. The €300tn estimate is a theoretical one-for-one energy-capacity comparison and not a proposed investment scenario.