Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Teresa Ribera receives H2med Consortium CEOs to be informed of the advancement of the European hydrogen corridor

 This Tuesday, June 24, the Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition at the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, has received the five CEOs of the H2med consortium: Arturo Gonzalo (Enagás, Spain), Pierre Duvieusart (Deputy CEO NaTran, France), Thomas Hüwener (OGE, Germany), Rodrigo Costa (REN, Portugal) and Carolle Foissaud (Teréga, France) to discuss the progress of the H2med clean hydrogen corridor project. It was an opportunity for the Commissioner and to exchange views on the advancement of the H2med project which will help to meet EU targets of decarbonisation and to cover 10% of European hydrogen consumption by 2030. The CEOs expressed the need to maintain a supportive policy as well as ambitious targets on hydrogen and provide visibility as soon as possible on the regulatory framework which will be implemented on these projects in order to be able to take investment decisions in due time, in line with the Alicante agreement (see last paragraph). 

 The consortium partners also announce an important milestone for H2med: the signature of the Grant Agreements for the BarMar (Barcelona–Marseille) and CelZa (Celorico–Zamora) PCI projects— key components of the H2med initiative—, following the announcement made last January by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The signature of the grant agreements with CINEA enables both projects to effectively receive the allocated funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Energy: €28,336,978 to fund engineering studies for the BarMar project, including marine and environmental reconnaissance campaigns, and additional €7,221,872 allocated to the CelZa project to support the basic and detailed engineering phases of the pipeline and compressor station. 

The European funding —which represents 100% of the requested CEF funds and 50% of the investment in the current phase of the project— will allow progress on basic and detailed infrastructure engineering, as well as on environmental impact studies and permitting. The European funds granted for H2med-related projects represent 39% of the total funding approved by CINEA for hydrogen projects. 

This milestone marks a new stage in the development and concretisation of the project, also building on the creation of the H2med Alliance last December, which aims at bringing European partners on board the project to develop a fully integrated value chain along the hydrogen corridor. 

The H2med project was first presented by the leaders of the governments of Portugal, Spain, and France, with the support of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in Alicante (Spain) at the Euromed summit on December 9, 2022, and the support of Germany was added in January 2023. Following this initial impulse, the operators of Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany presented the project at an event in Berlin in October 2023, where the support of the governments of these four countries and that of the European Commission —as well as that of the industry and the main players in the sector in Germany —, was ratified. 

About the companies involved:

Enagás is a Transmission System Operator (TSO) with 50 years’ experience in the development, operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure. It has more than 12,000 kilometres of gas pipelines, three underground storage facilities and eight regasification plants. The company operates in seven countries. In Spain it is the Technical Manager of the Gas System and, according to the Royal Decree-Law 8/2023, Enagás may operate as provisional Hydrogen Transmission Network Operator (HTNO) and develop H2med, the Spanish hydrogen network and associated storage facilities. In line with its commitment to energy transition, Enagás has announced its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, with a firm commitment to decarbonisation and the promotion of renewable gases, especially hydrogen. Find out more at: https://www.enagas.es/en/

Press contact: Jorge Álvarez – dircom@enagas.es – (+34) 630 384 930

NaTran is the new name of GRTgaz. In 2025, NaTran changed its name and launched a new corporate project focused on energy transition and carbon neutrality. To achieve its strategic goals, the company is adapting its networks and practices to address ecological, economic, and digital challenges. It provides infrastructure and logisitics solutions tailored to gases that contribute to the energy transition (biomethane, hydrogen and CO2). NaTran is the second-largest gas transmission operator in Europe. The Group has two subsidiaries: Elengy (Europe’s leading LNG terminal operator) and NaTran Deutschland (operator of the MEGAL network). NaTran undertakes public service missions aimed at ensuring safe gas transport for its customers. The NaTran R&I research center (formerly RICE) is an international benchmark in research and innovation applied to the energy transition. NaTran Group key figures: 33,800 km of pipelines, 590 TWh of gas transported, nearly 3,850 employees, nearly €2.5 billion in revenue in 2024. To find out more about NaTran and its initiatives, visit NaTrangroupe.com, X, LinkedIn, Instagram.

Press contact: Chafia Baci – chafia.baci@natrangroupe.com – (+33) 6 40 48 54 40

OGE is one of Europe’s leading transmission system operators. With our approximately 12,000 kilometres of pipeline network, we transport gas throughout Germany, and, due to our geographical location, we are the link for gas flows in the European single market. Our approximately 2,000 employees of the OGE group stand for security of supply. We make our network available to all market participants on a non-discriminatory, market-oriented and transparent basis. We make energy flow. For more information about the company, please visit www.oge.net.

Press contact: Kristian Peters-Lach – kristian.peters-lach@oge.net – (+49) 201 3642–12622

REN – Gasodutos, S.A. is the Portuguese gas TSO and part of REN – Redes Energéticas Nacionais, SGPS, S.A., a group of companies that integrates the Portuguese electricity TSO, as well as other gas activities concessions in Portugal such as, the Sines LNG Terminal, the underground storage and one gas distribution company. Besides its operation in Portugal, REN also has gas and electric grid assets in Chile and a share in the Cahora Bassa power plant in Mozambique. REN – Gasodutos, S.A. is responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of more than 1,300 km of high-pressure pipelines in Portugal and for the national gas system technical management. Find us at https://www.ren.pt/

Press contact: Paulo Camacho – paulo.camacho@ren.pt – (+351) 929 029 187

Teréga – Established in South-West France, at the crossroads between major European gas flows, Teréga has exercised exceptional expertise for over 80 years in the development of gas transport and storage infrastructures. Today, it continues to develop innovative solutions to overcome the major energy challenges facing France and Europe. A true accelerator of the energy transition, Teréga operates over 5,000 km of pipelines and 2 underground storage reservoirs representing 15.8% of the French gas transport network and 27% of national storage capacity. In 2024, the company generated turnover of €488 million (excluding balancing and congestion) and had more than 647 employees. Corporate social responsibility is at the heart of Teréga’s strategy, as it embarks on the energy transition to carbon neutrality. Teréga has rolled out programmes in all areas of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance): its employee safety and its infrastructure security via the PARI 2035 programme, sustainable development of territories and social responsibility via the ENERGIZ MOUV programme, support of philanthropic projects via the Teréga Accélérateur d’Énergies endowment fund, and reduction of environmental impacts via the BE POSITIF programme with a commitment to a 34% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2021 on all scopes 1, 2 and 3. Find us at https://www.terega.fr/

Press contact: Céline DALLEST – celine.dallest@terega.fr – (+33)6 38 89 11 07