Expected to come as the ‘first’ major hydrogen corridor in the EU, the pipeline is anticipated to carry 10% of continent’s hydrogen consumption, equating to two million tonnes per year, coming as part of a European hydrogen backbone.
Read more: H2Med hydrogen pipeline can build ‘a European hydrogen backbone’
Under the renewed Franco-German commitments, H2 View understands the H2Med project will now be extended to Germany, which is expected to be completed by 2030.
Set to run under the Mediterranean Sea, the pipeline will carry green hydrogen from production centres in Southern Europe to meet wider European hydrogen demand.
In May last year (2022), the European Commission set the target of producing 10 million tonnes of domestic renewable hydrogen annually by 2030, with intentions to import another 10 million.
Read more: €200m for hydrogen research in REPowerEU plan
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez tweeted on Sunday (January 22), “Germany joins H2Med along with France, Portugal and Spain.” Adding, the country’s new Iberian solution came in favour of European energy sovereignty.
In line with plans of establishing 4GW of green hydrogen production, reports earlier this month (January 2023) suggested that Spain was set to approve a €74m ($80m) initial subsidy for four green hydrogen projects in the country.
Read more: Spain set to approve first four green hydrogen projects
The initial H2Med plans, excluding Germany, were estimated to cost €2.5bn ($2.7bn). It has not yet been made clear how much the extension to Germany will cost.
Deepening hydrogen commitments
In addition to the pipeline plans, a joint declaration between France and Germany said that the countries had confirmed a ‘high-level working group’ to initially focus on hydrogen developments between the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and France’s Ministry of Ecological Transition (MTE).
The counties plan to work towards a common understanding and roadmap aimed at the development of large-scale hydrogen production and building a resilient European hydrogen market.
Additionally, France and Germany plan to ensure that both renewable and low-carbon hydrogen can be taken into account in European decarbonisation, while “acknowledging their differences and safeguarding the overall ambition level of the renewable target.”
Read more: ‘Blue is not green’, says Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, urging EU Council to reject RED amendments
Further adding to hydrogen plans, the partner nations also revealed they aimed to establish a new “Franco-German dialogue platform on battery charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure,” to exchange information and best practices.
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