(Madrid / Spain) – More than a dozen European companies have formed an alliance called the “H2med Southwest Hydrogen Corridor”. The aim is to accelerate the decarbonization of industrial regions through the implementation of the “H2med” hydrogen corridor.
The "H2med" consortium and around a dozen other companies are forming an alliance to promote and accelerate the construction of hydrogen pipelines. © Enagás SA
In the 2s, H2030med is intended to connect the hydrogen markets in southern and northern Europe via Portugal, Spain, France and Germany. The corridor includes pipelines between Portugal and Spain ("CelZa", Celorico da Beira / Zamora) with a capacity of 0,75 million tonnes per year, an underwater pipeline between Spain and France ("BarMar", Barcelona / Marseille) with a capacity of two million tonnes and the connection to the German hydrogen core network.
Open to other companies and regions
The initiators of “H2med” are the four gas transmission system operators Enagás SA (Spain), GRTgaz SA (Spain), Redes Gasodutos SA (REN; Portugal) and Teréga SAS (Spain). In October last year, Open Grid Europe GmbH (OGE) from Germany joined as the fifth network operator.
The new alliance of European industries with the network operators now also includes the petrochemical group Moeve SA (Spain, formerly Cepsa), the energy and technology companies DH2 Energy España (Spain), Thyssenkrupp Nucera (Germany), Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (Germany), Elyse Energy (France), HDF Energy (France), Hynamics (France), Qair (France), Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE; Germany), SHS-Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co KG (Germany) and the investment company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP; Denmark). The alliance is open to other companies and regions, according to a statement.
Signing the agreement at the German Embassy in Madrid (from left): Maarten Wetselaar (CEO Moeve), Arturo Gonzalo (CEO Enagás), Timona Ghosh (Senior Business Development Manager, HDF Energy). © Enagás SA
This multi-regional and multi-sectoral cooperation is "crucial to creating a solid foundation for increasing hydrogen supply and demand," explains Enagás. To this end, cooperation and communication between members in areas such as production, technology, consumption and transport will be strengthened in order to boost national hydrogen markets and coordinate supply and demand.
Hydrogen will flow from Barcelona to Marseille via the 450-kilometer-long maritime “BarMar” pipeline. © H2med
Earlier this year, Enagás, OGE, GRTgaz and Teréga commissioned Scottish engineering services provider John Wood Group plc to prepare a preliminary H2med study on the routes of the 450-kilometer maritime BarMar pipeline and the CelZa pipeline, which connects Portugal and Spain over 250 kilometers overland. The total investment for both projects is estimated at €2,5 billion.
Enagás President Antonio Llardén stressed in April this year that investments in hydrogen infrastructure are "key to decarbonization and security of supply in Spain and Europe." The estimated total investment in Spain in the projects of common interest (PCI) associated with H2med amounted to 5,9 billion euros: 4,9 billion for the hydrogen infrastructure and one billion for the Spanish part of H2med. Enagás itself plans to invest around 2027 billion euros in the hydrogen infrastructure between 2030 and 3,2.
Expressions of interest still possible until December 18th
In November, the consortium of five European transmission system operators called on the hydrogen industry to express its interest in H2med infrastructure. Companies can participate via the H2Digital platform until December 18. The results will be presented in the first quarter of 2025.
The "H2med Southwest Hydrogen Corridor" alliance was officially founded and signed at the "Scaling Up Green Hydrogen for Domestic Use and Export" event at the German Embassy in Madrid, which was organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) and the German Energy Agency (Dena). According to BMWK, around 80 actors from the entire hydrogen value chain in Spain, Portugal, France and Germany took part, as well as high-ranking political representatives from these countries.
Photo above
H2med connects a whole series of hydrogen projects from the European industry with the Portuguese and Spanish backbone networks as well as with the German hydrogen core network. Enagás presented the project in October last year at the Spanish embassy in Berlin in advance of the application as a "Project of Common European Interests" (PCI). The German transmission system operator OGE joined the alliance of the four other companies at the time. © Enagás SA
