Green hydrogen pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille to cost €2.5bn
Spain, France and Portugal will present H2Med project to Brussels before December 15 deadline to access European funds
The proposed H2Med underwater pipeline that will transport green hydrogen between Barcelona and Marseille will cost approximately €2.5bn, according to Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez.
Sánchez revealed the figure in Alacant (Alicante) on Friday, where he appeared with European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen, French president Emmanuel Macron, and Portuguese president António Costa.
Spain, France and Portugal are to present the project to the European Commission before December 15, the deadline in order to receive European funds, which could cover up to half of the total cost.
H2Med, previously referred to as BarMar, will be the first "big hydrogen corridor" in the European Union, Sánchez said, with the capacity to transport 2 million tonnes annually, equivalent to 10% of the predicted green hydrogen consumption in the European Union in 2030.
Sánchez said the H2Med project was "an example of cooperation" from three countries that want to give "a solidary and committed response" to the energy crisis.
Von der Leyen praised the initiative, saying it has the potential to become the "backbone" of the green hydrogen sector in the European Union. “The Iberian Peninsula is set to become one of Europe's major energy hubs,” the European Commission president added.
Paradigm shift
Portuguese president António Costa, described H2Med as a paradigm shift for the European energy sector. "With this there will be a change in tendency, because we will no longer be importers and re-exporters, but we will strengthen our position as producers and exporters of energy."
French president Emmanuel Macron said the construction of the corridor will act as a starting point for other countries to join the network and present new projects to expand the system of interconnections on the continent.
The meeting took place ahead as part of the ninth EU-MED9 Summit, bringing together the Mediterranean countries of southern Europe: Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Cyprus, Malta, Greece, Slovenia and Croatia.
Catalan government support
Earlier in the week, Catalonia’s foreign minister Meritxell Serret traveled to Marseille to affirm her government's willingness to help build the H2Med green energy pipeline between the Catalan capital and the French port city.