Frequently asked questions & answers

H2med is an essential element for the configuration of a hydrogen corridor from the Iberian Peninsula to Northwest Europe, connecting supply from producer countries to demand centers. It is supported by the governments of France, Portugal, Spain and Germany, as well as the European Commission, and promoted by the TSOs of the countries: Enagás, GRTgaz, OGE, REN, and Teréga. It was submitted to the European Union’s Projects of Common Interest application on December 15th, 2022.

H2med includes two interconnections: CelZa between Portugal and Spain, and BarMar, an offshore pipeline between Spain and France.

CelZa will have a maximum capacity of 0.75 MTPA (million tonnes of hydrogen per annum) and BarMar will have a maximum capacity of 2 MTPA. One of CelZa’s main purposes will be to transport hydrogen exports from Portugal to Spain, which will then be added to Spain’s export production in order to supply the rest of Europe. The overall export throughput from the Iberian Peninsula is expected to be up to 2 MPTA in operational conditions.

As both H2med branches will be connected to each participating country’s core hydrogen backbone, the hydrogen production flowing through H2med will be stored in the storage reservoirs that these countries are developing, either through the future repurposing of existing natural gas underground storage cavities, or through the construction of new capacities. By the time H2med is completed, several dedicated hydrogen storage options will be available on the hydrogen backbones.

The joint investment of these two projects is estimated at €2.5 billion. The budget for CelZa is ≈ €350 million and the budget for BarMar is ≈ €2,135 million. The main source of financing is expected to be from the EU. In order to be eligible for European funding through the CEF-E program  as well as other European funding streams, the H2med participating TSOs applied for PCI (Project of Common Interest) approval.

Additionally, TSOs have launched calls for interest on their own backbone in order to evaluate the needs of future industrial clients. A market may be later applied for the H2med project in order to secure firm commitments to complete the project’s funding, along with the countries own strategies.

Once H2med is operational, fees associated with the use of the infrastructure will also provide an income source. The regulatory conditions will have to be discussed with the national authorities.

On October, 18th, 2023, German operator OGE joined Enagás, GRTgaz, REN and Teréga as an H2med promoter. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Berlin by all five TSOs materializing OGE’s commitment to the H2med initiative. This development highlights the key role of H2med in meeting Germany’s expected hydrogen requirements as well as the European REPowerEU targets set by the European Union.

Currently, there are different projects along the route to Northwest Europe. The main projects aiming to connect the Iberian Peninsula to Northwest Europe are the Portuguese Hydrogen Backbone and the Spanish Hydrogen Backbone, and, in France, the French pipeline HY-FEN will connect with the H2ercules network in Germany. In addition, a pipeline connection from North African countries to the Iberian Peninsula could potentially be created in the future, adding a new import source. This would increase the volume of hydrogen flowing through H2med into the European Hydrogen Backbone.