Spain, Portugal, and France agreed on Dec. 9 to build an undersea pipeline that will transport green hydrogen from the Iberian Peninsula to France and possibly the rest of Europe.
The project, named H2Med aims to make the European Union more independent following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the pipeline, dubbed H2Med, will be able to convey some 2 million metric tons of hydrogen to France annually — 10% of the EU’s estimated hydrogen needs. The pipeline is expected to cost 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion). The three countries will present the project to the European Commission so that it will be eligible for EU funding that could cover as much as 50% of the cost.
On Friday, Sánchez and his French and Portuguese counterparts met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Alicante, Spain.
Relevant: European Parliament Eases Off Green Hydrogen Production Criteria
“Today, the Iberian Peninsula is becoming a major European energy gateway to the world,” Von der Leyen said during a joint press briefing.
The pipeline will “take a new path through the Mediterranean and rely on a technology of the future, which is hydrogen,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “It will also probably allow later other European interconnections toward some other countries which will want to get that hydrogen.”
The pipeline will link two plants in northern Portugal and northern Spain and then involve a pipeline under the Mediterranean Sea from the port in Barcelona to Marseille in France.
“Hydrogen is a game-changer for Europe,” said Von der Leyen, adding that the European Union plans to produce 10 million metric tons of green hydrogen by the end of the decade and import another 10 million tons.
Read more: EU Approves €5.2B Public Funding For Hydrogen Projects
