The conflict between Spain and France over which type of hydrogen should be considered green is starting to flare up, causing both sides to raise their voices. And it threatens to affect the future of the world in a secondary way (or not so much). mega project H2Med, the transnational ‘super corridor’ to transport hydrogen in Europe, has reached an agreement between both countries, along with Portugal and Germany.
The European Commission this week announced that at least some of the hydrogen produced using energy from nuclear power plants, a label similar to hydrogen produced with renewable energythus supporting the arguments of France, the EU’s largest nuclear power. It’s an initial position from Brussels that the Spanish Government vehemently opposes – which the Twenty-Seven and the European Parliament still must support for it to become official. give a gift green band to a non-energy.
Teresa Ribera, the Vice President and Minister of Ecological Transition, sharply criticized this possibility and began to speak out. ‘Favorable treatment’ to Francewarned that it is “trying to mix” energy types and that Spain “will not surrender” at this point. Some of the criticisms that Jean-Michel Casa, French Ambassador to Spain, from the Prensa Ibérica group, responded in a forum published in EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA.
The problem is, Intense pressure from the French government The EU’s leveling of the playing field for renewable hydrogen and nuclear comes as far as threatening to continue with H2Med. A corridor originally designed to connect Portugal, Spain, and France to transport green hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources from the Iberian Peninsula to Europe, but eventually leading to Germany, has also opened the door for pink hydrogen to be used for injection. from nuclear to electricity – Made in France.
HE H2Med was originally planned to bring hydrogen from the Iberian Peninsula to Europe. and publicly released technical studies did not consider the opposite direction to send hydrogen from Europe to Spain. But France, shocked by the color of hydrogen and the sustainability label distributed by the EU, now warns that the corridor should also be used to send hydrogen produced with electricity from nuclear reactors to Spain. Official French sources warned that “France won’t be interested if it doesn’t go both ways” In his remarks to this newspaper about the need for the future hydro channel to be bidirectional in the energy transport flow.
The French ambassador to Spain, on his forum posted here, stated that neither the agreement between the countries to launch H2Med, nor the joint declaration of the Spain-France summit in Barcelona last January, “H2Med only operates from Barcelona to Marseille (and Europe)”. ), as has been argued lately (because, logically, interconnections at this depth are always designed to work in two directions)”.
Just ‘green’ all the way to Marseille?
The original plan, agreed upon between Madrid, Paris and Lisbon, was to connect the three countries by a two-section corridor that was expected to be operational between 2028 and 2030. One section connects Spain to Portugal (between Celorico da Beira and Zamora) and the other to France (between Barcelona and Marseille, by submarine tube). After adding Berlin later, the metro network will extend from the territory of France until it reaches Germany, and the goal is to deploy it to other countries in northern and central Europe.
Madrid, Lisbon and Paris submitted its H2Med candidacy to the European Commission in December, deemed a project of common interest (PCI), receiving up to half of the €2,850 million required to build two sections of waterways in the three countries. According to official Spanish sources, in the technical project sent to Brussels, it is thought that H2Med will only be used to transport green hydrogen and will only serve to export renewable gas from the Iberian Peninsula to France, with no upstream foreseen. .
In documents sent to the European Commission to secure European financing, it was determined that the hydraulic channel is not planned to be used by Spain to import hydrogen from France, and that this hydrogen can be produced with electricity from French nuclear power plants and that there are no compressors in the designed facilities. Government sources explain that Marseille will make it possible to reverse the tide. But when the pipeline network is expanded beyond Marseille, the hydrogen to be transported need not be fully renewable.
However, although the original project designed the flow only in the Spain-France direction, sources from the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition said that the managers of the gas transport networks of the respective countries (Spanish Enagás, French Teréga and GRTgaz and Portuguese REN) were asked to determine the final specifications of the project “technical details”. continues to work on it”.
As an energy source, electricity is needed for hydrogen production. However, electrolysis of water occurs, which separates hydrogen (H2) from oxygen (O). It is considered “green hydrogen”, where the required electricity is obtained from renewable energy sources such as wind or solar. “Pink hydrogen” is hydrogen where electrolysis is done with energy from nuclear power plants, and since France is a nuclear power plant, the hydrogen it produces will use this type of energy.
The European Commission’s proposal for community cataloging of hydrogen means, in practice, to equalize the conditions for both types of hydrogen produced with low-carbon energies such as renewable and nuclear. The 27s have one month to decide on the Commission’s delegated acts on this matter. The Spanish government has yet to make an official statement without examining the Brussels documents in depth, but it does not rule out allegations of blocking the proposal’s entry into force.