Greece’s Energy Revolution: Motor Oil Launches Nation’s First Public Hydrogen Station

While the rest of Europe was busy building hundreds of hydrogen stations, Greece was apparently taking notes from the back of the class. Motor Oil Hellas finally decided to join the party in June 2025, inaugurating the nation’s first public hydrogen refueling station. Better late than never.

The station launch wasn’t exactly a solo act. The EU threw some money at it, naturally. Metacon, Coral Gas, and Wien Energie also pitched in, because nothing says “national achievement” like needing four different entities to help you catch up to Bulgaria and Slovakia. The Agioi Theodoroi location next to Motor Oil’s refinery wasn’t picked by accident—infrastructure matters when you’re playing catch-up.

Here’s the thing: Europe hit 294 hydrogen stations by the end of 2024. Germany’s sitting pretty with 113 stations. France has 65. Greece had zero. Until now. That’s some serious catching up to do, and Motor Oil knows it. The Europe Gas Tracker documents all this infrastructure annually, making Greece’s absence particularly glaring.

The timing isn’t random. Hellenic Hydrogen popped up to push Greece’s renewable hydrogen production forward. They’re talking big about green hydrogen through electrolysis, export markets, and decarbonizing everything from trucks to power plants. Ambitious? Sure. But when you’re starting from scratch, why not dream big?

Greece’s hydrogen dreams are riding on EU funding and policy shifts. The Green Deal and Fit for 55 package basically forced everyone’s hand. Countries either jump on the hydrogen train or get left behind. Greece chose to jump.

The technology’s there. Electrolyzers can pump out renewable hydrogen at scale. The new station has all the fancy compression and safety systems. International partners brought the expertise Greece didn’t have. It’s a crash course in hydrogen infrastructure, and Motor Oil’s the enthusiastic student. Unlike geothermal energy which offers 96% capacity factor, hydrogen still faces reliability challenges in its early adoption phase.

Early adopters in logistics and municipal fleets finally have somewhere to refuel. That’s the real test. Build it and they will come, right? Greece is betting on it.

With 1,160 hydrogen stations globally across 45 countries, Greece just became number 46. Asia’s got 748 stations. Europe’s accelerating with Greece now officially on the map. It’s not exactly groundbreaking, but for a country that had zilch, one station is progress. Small steps.