Barcelona will be the starting point Europe’s first green corridorAccording to the agreement reached by the Presidents Pedro Sanchez, Emmanuel Macron Y Antonio Costa in December 2022 to create The hydrogen link between the Iberian Peninsula and France. The purpose is that the tube allows for transfer. two million tons per year hydrogen To the rest of the continent with a nutritional target by 2030 10% of all consumption hydrogen from Europe, although there are doubts that need to be resolved about the design and process of the pipeline.
numbers
called as Bar Mar will be one 2,550 meters deep tube, 355 kilometers long and with 28 inch diameter which will only carry hydrogen somewhere 210 bar pressure. It is estimated to cost approx. 2.5 billion €half will come from the European Union and for this the Government will Common Interest Project (PCI). was there three possible layouts on the table. The A was the most direct with a length of 369 kilometers and a maximum depth of 985 meters, but there were gaps and valleys in its path; The last selected B and C have a similar depth—about 2,550 meters—but the winner is shorter and has a gentler upward slope.
In addition, this Barcelona-Marseille hydro channel is a Bigger project called H2Med which includes another Cross-border infrastructure between Spain (Zamora) and Portugal (Celorico da Beira) and also start of an internal network to connect main hydrogen production centers with domestic demand and the rest of Europe by connecting From Cartagena to Barcelonarelated to Barcelona -Gijon; a Axis along the Cantabrian and multiple links Gijon and Huelva.
stages
At the end of last year, the main milestones were reached: political agreement and preliminary design According to what Europe requested to finance the project – Von Der Leyen has always said that Europe will not finance new gas pipes. This is it first step a long way to go Start construction at the end of 2025 or around the beginning of 2026 56 months, as planned by the government to be operational in 2030. According to the parties, initially it will not start unless it receives European funding. But in addition, there is still missing technical and environmental impact studies and other consultations that may delay or halt the project. “We don’t know what inconsistencies may arise along the way, as there is no prior knowledge,” the IEEFA energy industry analyst warns. Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz.
What happened in the previous project, known as an example, MidCatIn 2014, it was said that Russia could meet 10% of gas consumption in Europe. there was never a consensus between countries, as now, but given by the last rapier Spanish and French regulators – National Market and Competition Commission (CNMC) and Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE)— kill project in 2019 after the assessment submitted by the carriers of both countries, Enagas and Teregaby lack of demand.
doubts
In this sense, one of the biggest doubts circulating on this project is this: if there is sufficient demand for that hydrogenbecause a technology is still evolving. “I was told the hydroduke would be fed. Germanybut France’s plan to maintain Marseille’s infrastructure in northern Europe is incomplete,” he adds. Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz. However, from gas employers, sedigasyour president, Joan’s Warthis time he emphasizes that the focus can go even further. supply security. “The context and current energy situation (determined by the war in Ukraine and the need for a gas flowing through pipelines) “has drastically changed the importance of energy security,” he explains.
Another unknown type of hydrogen Given that, it will work on the highway Spain wants to be produced with renewable energy Y France advocates nuclearand if it’s going to be the flow direction up from the Iberian Peninsula or will include: double direction. “The logical thing is that if the Spanish green hydrogen producer is not buying the French pink hydrogen, it’s clear from everything. green hydrogenBut some countries bet pink because they have a lot of nuclear power, while others bet blue because they have large natural gas deposits and a tradition of capturing CO2, but maybe they can’t market it later,” explains the president of the Spanish Hydrogen Association (AeH2), Xavier Brey. Another melon that needs to be opened is how this green hydrogen is produced, which the European regulation is missing.