THE H2med Partners This Thursday, they launched the call for the process of Call for interest assess the infrastructure needs of players in the hydrogen value chain. The platform, which will be open until December 18, will help optimize infrastructure design and establish operational requirements.
H2med is a transnational initiative between Portugal, Spain, France and Germany For connect the hydrogen networks of the Iberian Peninsula in the northwest of Europe. The project aims to exploit the potential of hydrogen economy and enable Europe to achieve its decarbonization and reindustrialization goals, through the supply of affordable green hydrogen to the world. Horizon 2030.
Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagasdetailed that this call for interest It will identify the transport infrastructure needs of stakeholders across the entire hydrogen value chain: producers, traders, distributors, industries and consumers in general“.
Furthermore, Gonzalo described Thursday as a historic and very important step for the energy sectorsince “five TSOs from four European countries, Portugal, Spain, France and Germany, give a giant step turn into reality H2medwhich will allow renewable hydrogen to be transported from the Iberian Peninsula to the industrial heart of Europe.
The H2med broker includes a hydrogen interconnection between Portugal and SpainCelZa (Celorico da Beira-Zamora), with a capacity of 0.75 million tonnes (Mt) per year, as well as an underwater pipeline to connect Spain to France, BarMar (Barcelona-Marseille), with a capacity of 2 Mt/anus. The two interconnections were included in the list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), published on April 8, 2024.
Access to green hydrogen opens a new stage
The objective of this Call for interest consists, among other things, of identifying needs in all areas areas covered by the corridorand more particularly those of national hydrogen networks that the five promoters will be built for commissioning in 2030.
This call is “a market consultation which will prelude a future binding process which allows access capacity to be allocated in a transparent and open manner to future users of the H2med corridor”, underlined Gonzalo. And he also declared that thanks to this megaproject ““Hydrogen is strengthening in the new stage which is now opening in the EU”, Indeed, he recalled, “the President of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, established as key priority the creation of a European hydrogen network and H2med is called upon to be the backbone of this European network.
In Portugal, where ambitious wind and solar projects have been launched, REN has planned a hydrogen infrastructure capable of export 0.75 million tonnes of hydrogen per year via H2med.
In Spain, Enagás, provisional manager of the hydrogen transport network (HTNO)received approval from the Council of Ministers to develop, construct and operate the Spanish hydrogen federating network with 2,700 km of pipelines and two associated storage facilities, as well as jointly developing the H2med corridor with its partners. This will serve to position the Iberian Peninsula as a hub for the export of renewable hydrogen to Europewith a capacity of up to 2 million tonnes per year.
In France, for its part, GRTgaz is working on HY-FEN, a 1,000 km hydrogen connection project from Marseille to Obergailbachon the border with Germany. It appears in the latest PCI list and will serve to connect the hydrogen production potential of the Iberian Peninsula to the main consumption and storage centers of France and Germany. Throughout its journey, strategic storage infrastructures will be added. HY-FEN will connect with other key projects, which are also included in the latest PCI list.
Teréga is piloting the South-West Hydrogen Corridor (HySoW) projecta 650 km hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure project to decarbonize the major industrial hubs and mobility centers of the regions of Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitainein the southwest of France and along the border with Spain. HySoW will provide access to additional volumes of hydrogen and will bring flexibility to the corridor thanks to its storage capacity and will connect HyFEN to the MidHY project developed by GRTgaz.
In Germany, the H2med project will be used to connect the H₂ercules project, by OGEwhich is part of the German hydrogen network and is made up of nearly 9,000 km which connect the country’s main demand centers. H₂ercules is a network of 2,000 km of gas pipelines which will supply consumers, particularly in the south and west of Germany, with hydrogen from various sources: that produced in the country and that imported, mainly via H2med.
October 22 Enagás, GRTgaz, REN, OGE and Teréga have submitted their funding requests for the Mechanism of the Connecting Europe Facilitywith which the studies of the H2med corridor project (PCI) will be carried out. Their requests were supported by letters of recommendation from the governments of Portugal, Spain, France and Germany.
THE Call for interest It was presented this Thursday in Madrid, during a webinar with the five European TSOs participating in the project. Representatives from each of these companies detailed the process, including its main objectives and the technical steps to participate.
Interested parties can participate in this process and submit their contributions via the H2Digital Platformaccessible on the H2medproject.com website, until December 18. Once the process of Call for interestthe results will be presented to interest groups.
The EU’s ambition: supporting the development of a hydrogen market
THE commitments made under REPowerEU producing 10 million tonnes (Mt) of green hydrogen in the EU and importing a further 10 Mt, together with the latest net zero industry law, underlines the role of hydrogen as a key enabler for decarbonisation and the reindustrialization of the EU.
He the development of associated infrastructure within the EU is a priority. The inclusion in the PCI list of CelZa and BarMar confirms their relevance at European level, in terms of sustainability, market integration, security of supply and competitiveness.
This corridor which will connect the south and north-west of Europe is the result of the joint efforts of four European countries and a public-private collaboration. H2med strengthens the strategic autonomy of the EU and the strong potential of Southern Europe in competitive hydrogen production.
The development of this corridor will cover the entire hydrogen value chain, thereby improving the economic competitiveness of industrial users. In addition, this will reduce carbon emissions and promote reindustrialization and the creation of new economic activities. H2med will make clean hydrogen a central element of the future energy system.
