this Alicante European Summit It will go down in history as one of his most important words. energy transition of the continent. head of government, Pedro Sanchez; President of France, Emmanuel Macronand the Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio CostaAccompanied by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenat EUIPO this Friday agreement for the construction of the first major European corridor green hydrogen. A gas called to be the great source of a decarbonized future.
During their joint appearance at the auditorium of the Alicante-based Euro-Agency, the four leaders stressed the importance of the agreement reached, which will contribute to building the “backbone”, according to the host, Von der Leyen. The transport of this energy source across Europe, which will make the Iberian Peninsula “one of the main energy centers of the EU”.
Although he was the last to intervene, Pedro Sánchez, who gave the first details of the so-called H2MED, which will be bipedal. Celourico da Beira to Zamora is the first to connect Portugal and Spain; and another that will connect Spain to France via an underwater pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille.
The estimated initial budget will be around 2.5 billion euros and the leading countries are counting on the EC to co-finance 50%.. In fact, this Friday’s meeting served to close the details with the technical project to be submitted on the 15th in order to receive the project statement for the benefit of the community. Von der Leyen has already suggested that she is heading in the right direction.
The target is for the pipeline to be operational by 2030, and as Pedro Sánchez points out, it will be capable of carrying the equivalent of 10% of the domestic consumption of green hydrogen expected for the entire European Union. Date.
20 million tons
Ursula Von der Leyen justified European interest in the project by assuring that “green hydrogen will change European history”.to be a “very important” part of the energy transition. He therefore recalled that since June 2020, the Commission has implemented the European Green Hydrogen Strategy, in which by 2030 up to 10 million tons of this fuel is expected to be produced as a whole within the Union and imported from other countries – mainly in North Africa – 10 million more.
Von de Leyen also highlighted the fact that the war in Ukraine has made the “energy transition not only urgent but also vital and crucial to the independence of European energy supply”. It’s a reality he advocates for “accelerated deployment of renewable energies,” including green hydrogen.
on his behalf Portuguese President Antonio Costa stated that the construction of this hydro canal will not allow the Iberian Peninsula to become just an import hub. and redistribution of energy will only become one of the main production centers for the rest of Europe. In this sense, it should not be forgotten that green hydrogen is obtained by electrolysis of water and electrical energy is mainly obtained from photovoltaic power plants.
in the same line, French Emmanuel Macron He also advocated for the new project that replaced the failed MidCat. For the transport of natural gas, which the Élysée opposes. Macron noted that H2MED meets three goals that are part of Europe’s collective strategy. First, ecological, “to reduce emissions and phase out fossil energy and switch to electrification.” Second, to promote “industrialization and innovation” across the continent. Third, “to achieve strategic autonomy and to generate our own energy to the fullest extent possible”.
In this context, Macron reminded that the green hydrogen corridor contributed to the increase in electricity interconnections between Spain and France, especially with the construction of the new connection to the Bay of Biscay. “It is very important to be able to make the best use of our electrical capacity,” insisted the President.
Partnership
Finally, Pedro Sánchez emphasized the example of cooperation represented by this tripartite agreement between Spain, Portugal and France, which will persistently benefit the entire European Union.
Like his predecessors, the French president stressed the importance of new leadership, especially after confirming the results of the war. Therefore, according to him, a “double commitment has been reiterated with H2MED. We are strengthening the EU’s energy security and strategic autonomy at a time when it is essential to reduce our energy dependence. Secondly, we reaffirm the EU’s commitment to be climate neutral.”
Finally, Sánchez underlined the importance of EUIPO, where the meeting took place, “symbolizing the European spirit that pervades this initiative”.