The H2Med green hydrogen corridor, conceived to produce and transport this energy from Portugal and Spain to France, is now gaining new momentum with the incorporation of Germany. The gas system operators involved, the Spanish Enagás, the Portuguese REN, and the French GRTgaz and Teréga, signed an agreement this Wednesday in Berlin with the German transport systems operator OGE to join forces in this infrastructure.
The project foresees, among other aspects, a land connection between the Portuguese town of Celorico da Beira and Zamora (CelZa) and a maritime connection between Barcelona and Marseille (BarMar). Objective: for H2Med to come into operation in 2030 to bring green hydrogen produced in the Iberian Peninsula to supply countries in northwest Europe, mainly Germany. The planned volume is up to two million tons per year, which will represent 10% of the total consumed in the EU.
But for the works to start and this project to advance, the support of Brussels is essential, insisted the CEOs (on the German side, the financial director) of the five operators, in an event at the Spanish embassy in Berlin under the title H2Med, an example of European energy cooperation.
“There is a real need to have H2Med to unite supply and demand for green hydrogen in Europe; “We are talking about cooperation, decarbonization and energy sovereignty of Europe,” argued Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagás, who stressed that the incorporation of the German operator OGE “is key because it means that, in addition to having the support of the governments of Portugal, France “, Spain and Germany, the transport system operators of the four countries are going to work together to make the project a reality.”
The Spanish Enagás and the partners from Portugal and France requested in December 2022 from the European Commission that this green hydrogen corridor be declared a Project of Common Interest (PCI), which would imply financing of up to 50% with European funds. Its promoters maintain that H2Med is a key infrastructure for the objectives of REPowerEU, the plan launched in May 2022 by the European Commission to respond to the disruptions in the global energy market derived from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This plan seeks to save energy, produce clean energy and diversify energy supply.
In November, the Commission will publish its list of projects of common interest, to be ratified by the European Parliament and the European Council at the beginning of 2024, at which time the selected projects will be able to apply for funding. The promoters of H2Med expect to be elected and be able to begin construction works in 2026 and put the infrastructure into operation in 2030. The two million annual tons of green hydrogen planned would represent 10% of the consumption target for Europe set by the REPowerEU plan.
For this reason, the CEO of the Portuguese REN, Rodrigo Costa, highlighted that “this project and its national axes provide a route for competitive hydrogen and contribute to a more integrated and independent European energy market.” Frank Reiners, CFO of German operator OGE, argued that H2Med “symbolizes a powerful bridge to a sustainable future; “It connects the most efficient regions in hydrogen production with the regions where it is most needed, and encourages international collaboration.”
On behalf of the German Government of social democrats, environmentalists and liberals, Franziska Brantner, parliamentary secretary of state of the Ministry of Economy, defended that “green hydrogen is at the center of the decarbonization strategy in Germany”, with measures such as accelerating the national network of hydrogen (Wasserstoff-Kernnetz). “We strongly support the development of the corridor with H2Med and its extension to Germany,” Brantner said.
H2Med has become the star energy project of the Spanish-Portuguese flag with French partners after the French president, Emmanuel Macron, buried in September 2022 with his veto the resumption of works on the Midcat gas pipeline, which would have transported Algerian gas to Europe through the Pyrenees connecting the Catalan town of Hostalric with the French town of Barbaira. In the summer of that year, the Spanish Government proposed a possible future use of the Midcat to transport green hydrogen, and even an alternative submarine connection to Italy, in both cases without success. Now, H2Med is aiming high to succeed in Europe.
