The European H2Med hydrogen pipeline project, which aims to develop the use of hydrogen on the continent, will be extended from southwestern Europe to Germany, French President Emmanuel Macron and the Spanish government said Sunday.
“We have decided to expand the H2Med project, which, thanks to European funding, links Portugal, Spain and France (…), with Germany, which will be a partner in this infrastructure strategy in terms of “hydrogen,” said the French president. during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the reconciliation agreement between Paris and Berlin.
In Madrid, Spain’s Energy Ministry confirmed an agreement reached on Sunday “on Germany’s membership of H2Med,” which follows “discussions between the governments of Spain, Germany, France and Portugal, facilitated by their deeply European vision.”
The agreement “strengthens the pan-European dimension of H2Med” and allows Spain to “become a green energy hub from the Iberian Peninsula to Central and Northern Europe,” the ministry said in a statement.
The gas pipeline, located on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, will transport green hydrogen obtained from water by electrolysis using renewable energy sources.
The Spanish government estimates that H2Med will be able to transport around two million tonnes of hydrogen to France annually, or 10% of the European Union’s estimated hydrogen needs. The project is expected to cost 2.5 billion euros.