H2med is a transnational initiative between Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany aimed at connecting hydrogen networks from the Iberian Peninsula to northwest Europe. The project seeks to leverage the hydrogen economy’s potential and enable Europe to meet its decarbonization and reindustrialization goals by providing affordable green hydrogen by 2030.

The H2med corridor includes a hydrogen interconnection between Portugal and Spain, CelZa (Celorico da Beira-Zamora), with a capacity of 0.75 million tons (Mt) per year, and a subsea pipeline to connect Spain with France, BarMar (Barcelona-Marseille), with a capacity of 2 Mt/year. These two interconnections were included in the list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), published on April 8, 2024.

The objective of this Call for Interest is to identify the needs in all the areas covered by the corridor, specifically those related to the national hydrogen backbone networks that the five promoters will construct for operation by 2030.

In Portugal, where ambitious wind and solar projects are underway, REN has planned a hydrogen infrastructure capable of exporting 0.75 million tons of hydrogen annually through H2med.
In Spain, Enagás, the provisional operator of the Hydrogen Transport Network (HTNO), has received approval from the Council of Ministers to develop, build, and operate the Spanish hydrogen backbone network with 2,700 km of pipelines and two associated storage facilities, as well as jointly develop the H2med corridor. This will position the Iberian Peninsula as a hub for exporting renewable hydrogen to Europe, with a capacity of up to 2 million tons annually.

In France, GRTgaz is working on HY-FEN, a 1,000 km hydrogen connection project running from Marseille to Obergailbach, at the German border. It is included in the latest PCI list and will connect the potential hydrogen production from the Iberian Peninsula with the major consumption and storage hubs in France and Germany. Along its route, strategic storage infrastructures will be added. HY-FEN will connect with other key projects, also included in the latest PCI list.
Teréga leads the Southwest Hydrogen Corridor (HySoW) project, a 650 km hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure project to decarbonize large industrial hubs and mobility centers in the Occitania and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions of southwest France, along the Spanish border. HySoW will provide access to additional hydrogen volumes and add flexibility to the corridor through its storage capacity, connecting to HyFEN and the MidHY project developed by GRTgaz.

In Germany, the H2med project will connect with the H₂ercules project by OGE, part of Germany’s hydrogen backbone network, consisting of nearly 9,000 km that connects the country’s major demand centers. H₂ercules is a 2,000 km network that will supply consumers, mainly in southern and western Germany, with hydrogen from various sources: domestically produced and imported, primarily via H2med.

On October 22, Enagás, GRTgaz, REN, OGE, and Teréga submitted their funding applications for the Connecting Europe Facility mechanism, which will fund the studies for the H2med corridor (PCI) project. Their applications were supported by letters of recommendation from the governments of Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany.

The Call for Interest was presented today in Madrid, during a webinar with the five European TSOs involved in the project. Representatives from each company outlined the process, including key objectives and technical steps to participate.

Interested parties can participate in this process and submit their contributions through the H2Digital platform, accessible at the H2medproject.com website, until December 18. Once the Call for Interest process is completed, the results will be presented to the stakeholders.

The EU’s ambition is to support the development of a hydrogen market. The commitments made under REPowerEU to produce 10 million tons (Mt) of green hydrogen within the EU and import another 10 Mt, along with the recent Net Zero Industry Act, highlight hydrogen’s role as a key vector for decarbonization and reindustrialization.

The development of associated infrastructures within the EU is a priority. The inclusion of CelZa and BarMar in the PCI list confirms their relevance at the European level in terms of sustainability, market integration, supply security, and competitiveness.

This corridor, connecting southern and northwestern Europe, is the result of the joint efforts of four European countries and public-private collaboration. H2med strengthens the EU’s strategic autonomy and the high potential of southern Europe for competitive hydrogen production.

The development of this corridor will cover the entire hydrogen value chain, improving the economic competitiveness of industrial users. It will also reduce carbon emissions and promote reindustrialization and the creation of new economic activities. H2med will make clean hydrogen a central part of the future energy system.