France, Spain to pursue $2.6bn hydrogen pipeline plan

Bloomberg

France and Spain said they will move ahead with a 2.5 billion euro ($2.6 billion) hydrogen pipeline, easing past tensions over an alternative link as they seek to boost their status as European energy suppliers.
The project will connect Portugal and Spain with France to transport about 10% of the bloc’s green hydrogen demand by 2030. French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, as well as Portuguese premier Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen took part in a meeting in Alicante, Spain.
“This green corridor will give more security and strategic autonomy to the European Union,” said Sanchez, who hosted the gathering before a forum of leaders from southern Europe later Friday. The new pipeline is part of the Spanish administration’s €16 billion investments in green energy.
Plans for a sub-sea pipe connecting Barcelona with Marseilles, known as H2Med, fit within Europe’s broader push to diversify its energy supplies away from Russian gas. Initially, H2Med was presented as a pipe that would transport gas for several years before shifting to hydrogen. But the option of carrying the fossil fuel was dropped this week to make the project eligible for EU funding earmarked for clean energies.
The optimal route to link Barcelona and Marseilles has a length of 455 kilometers at a maximum depth of 2.6 kilometers, according to a join presentation of the project. The governments are analysing two other routes that are lengthier. The link between Portugal and Spain will cost an additional €300 million and could be ready in four years, Portuguese Environment Minister Duarte Cordeiro told reporters.