From energy security to hydrogen corridors: FT Summit discussions in Athens
At the Financial Times Energy Transition Summit in Athens, Vice President of the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council, Oleksandr Riepkin, joined the panel discussion “The hydrogen gateway – securing the East Med’s role in Europe’s next energy market” together with European industry representatives and policymakers.
One of the strongest takeaways from the discussion was that Europe is now entering a much more complex stage of the energy transition.
The first phase was largely focused on renewable generation targets and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. The next phase is increasingly about something harder: how to physically connect future energy systems across regions, industries, and borders. This is why conversations around hydrogen infrastructure are becoming so important.
The Eastern Mediterranean and South East Europe already possess many of the elements that may shape future energy corridors:
- LNG infrastructure
- strategic ports and shipping routes
- cross-border pipeline networks
- industrial clusters
- geographic proximity between future supply and demand centers
The challenge today is no longer only technological. It is increasingly about coordination between governments, investors, infrastructure operators, and industrial consumers.
Even under wartime conditions, Ukraine continues to be part of Europe’s long-term energy and industrial transformation. Future integration into regional hydrogen, biomethane, electricity, and green fuel corridors may become an important element not only of decarbonization, but also of economic recovery, resilience, and deeper European integration.
An important theme across the summit was also the growing realism around decarbonization pathways.
The discussions showed that Europe is gradually moving away from simplified “one-solution-fits-all” approaches. Different sectors will likely require different technological combinations, infrastructure models, and transition timelines.
In this context, hydrogen is increasingly viewed not as a standalone sector, but as part of a much broader industrial ecosystem connecting energy security, transport, heavy industry, trade, and competitiveness.