Spain is shifting its transport energy strategy away from new international gas interconnections and toward green hydrogen as the core of its future plan. Until recently, there were ideas to revive a Pyrenees gas link with France, reviving the old MidCat project, or to add an underwater gas link with Italy. Neither of these options will move forward.
Spain and France have scrapped the revamped MidCat, opting instead for a new corridor that will connect Barcelona and Marseille under the sea. From 2030, this submerged pipeline will be dedicated to carrying green hydrogen. A second link will connect Portugal and Spain, also reserved for hydrogen transportation.
The Spanish government is moving to bury the ambitious concept of an underwater gas pipeline with Italy between Barcelona and Livorno. The plan would have started with natural gas and later converted to hydrogen, with studies indicating a construction budget of 3,000 million euros.
Enagás will not review its strategic plan in light of disruptions to the planned gas pipelines. The company is reallocating its focus to international gas trade while stepping back from expanding cross-border natural gas connections. Official sources from the Ministry of Ecological Transition, led by Vice President Teresa Ribera, confirm that the nation is prioritizing a future powered by renewable hydrogen and decarbonization across sectors that are hard to electrify, such as heavy industry and long-haul transport.
Spain currently operates gas pipelines linking its system with France, Portugal, Algeria, and Morocco. The government plans do not include adding facilities for natural gas transport; instead they emphasize green hydrogen plants that support decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors powered by renewable energy. The industry notes that the new hydroelectric corridor with France and the Italy project could, in principle, proceed in parallel, aiming to boost European gas exports while progressively prioritizing hydrogen as the energy backbone. The hydrogen transition is moving from concept to reality, though the government has ruled out keeping natural gas at the center of this strategy.
First hydrogen corridor
The pledge to advance interconnections is shifting toward green hydrogen. Spain, France, and Portugal are coordinating Europe’s first major green hydrogen corridor, aiming for full operation by 2030. The tri-national megaproject, unveiled recently by the leaders, will connect the Iberian Peninsula with the rest of the EU across two routes, with investment around 2.85 billion euros to initiate the scheme. An additional 350 million euros is allocated for the submarine segment linking Spain with France and the Spain-Portugal section.
H2Med, the name given to the orchestrated corridor, is prepared to be presented to the European Commission as a candidate for a project of common European interest, unlocking potential support from EU funds covering up to half of eligible costs. Brussels has given its blessing, and the Commission president attended the Alicante unveiling, signaling political momentum.
H2Med will serve exclusively to transport green hydrogen, not conventional natural gas, even in the initial phases. Official sources indicate that if the aim is hydrogen transport, any European funding should be allocated to clean energy infrastructure, with natural gas no longer a central feature of the plan.