The European Commission proposed in December 2025 the European Grids Package and the Energy Highways Initiative – as announced by EC President von der Leyen in her 2025 State of the Union address on 10th September 2025 – to lower energy prices and to ensure security of supply as well as energy independence. The Energy Highway initiative addresses the most urgent infrastructure needs to meet the 15% interconnection targets as defined in the Governance of the Energy Union. The selected projects aim i.a. to reduce reliance on fossil fuels by integrating more renewables into the grid and to increase energy security. Many of the selected Energy Highway projects hold a PCI or PCI status.
The SoutH2 Corridor was highlighted as one of eight key strategic projects across all energy sectors which were chosen based on their strategic importance to complete the Energy Union. The European Commission emphasizes the following benefits of the corridor:
- Central for the development to a just and sustainable energy transition in the Mediterranean
- Enables the decarbonisation of industrial hubs along the corridor route in North Africa, Italy, Austria and Germany
- Significant potential for the scale up of hydrogen production, infrastructure and offtake.
The projects will benefit from enhanced political coordination with the European Member States and extending outreach beyond European Member States where necessary.
The complete list of Energy Highways can be found here: European Commission 2025 – Communication on European Grids Package
