The pipeline linking Spain and France will now start being built on the other side of the Pyrenees. The Spanish government has authorised the operator Enagás to develop IPCEI projects, including the H2MED project.

This project is one of the cornerstone of the future European backbone. H2MED is to transport 2 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 (equivalent to 10% of the European Union’s consumption), crossing Portugal, Spain, France and then Germany. To avoid crossing the Pyrenees, this infrastructure will use an undersea pipeline between the port of Barcelona, in Catalonia, and the port of Marseille-Fos, in the Bouches-du-Rhône region (France).

During a Council of Ministers, Spain has just given the go-ahead for the construction, commissioning, operation, monitoring and maintenance of the hydrogen networks recognised under the IPCEI and the two associated underground storage facilities.

These colossal works also include the connection between Portugal and Spain (specifically between Celorico and Zamora, the CelZa connection), the domestic hydrogen infrastructures in Spain, including the storage units in the north of the country, and finally the interconnection between Spain and France (BarMar). On 25 June, Enagás, GRTgaz and Teréga, in cooperation with OGE, signed the joint development agreement (JDA) for the BarMar connection, while Enagás and REN formalised an agreement that reinforces the joint memorandum of understanding for the development of CelZa.

You can read here the press release on the Enagás website.

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King