Europe Built Hydrogen Infrastructure Instead of the Power Grid It Needed - CleanTechnica

The article highlights a critical policy lesson from Europe's energy transition: successful decarbonization depends on realistic demand planning rather than solely on technological ambition. Europe, particularly Germany, anticipated a significant rise in electricity demand due to electrification of transport, buildings, and industry, with projections showing a 40% to 70% increase by mid-century. However, while renewable generation capacity—especially wind and solar—expanded rapidly, the necessary transmission infrastructure to deliver this power to demand centers lagged significantly. This mismatch led to substantial curtailment of renewable electricity, with Germany sometimes discarding over 6 TWh annually due to grid bottlenecks, undermining investor confidence and inflating consumer costs. The curtailment was mistakenly interpreted by hydrogen proponents as surplus power availability, prompting investments in hydrogen electrolysis that did not address the underlying grid constraints. In contrast, countries like China and India prioritized transmission infrastructure development ahead of or alongside renewable capacity growth. China invested heavily in ultra-high-voltage transmission lines to