Germany is to join France, Spain and Portugal in an ambitious hydrogen project that could see greener gas generated using renewables piped from the Iberian peninsula. A green hydrogen pipeline supplying France from Spain and Portugal is to be extended to Germany.
It is part of a new “joint road map” on hydrogen announced jointly by Paris and Berlin to step up “investments in the technologies of tomorrow, particularly renewable and low carbon energies”.
The so-called H2Med undersea pipeline from the Iberian peninsula to France is set to enter operation by 2030 carrying hydrogen produced using renewables. It is expected to transport up to 2 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen a year, which amounts to 10% of the total European Union’s consumption, according to Spanish authorities.
Spanish Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera called Germany joining the project “excellent news.” In September 2022, the EU Commission approved €5.2 billion in EU public funding for hydrogen projects.
Although much faith is being place in hydrogen as a cleaner fuel for the future, a transition from natural gas will be an extremely complex undertaking. It will require an overhaul of the whole gas eco-system including distribution, storage, transmission including pipelines, storage sites, ports and a potential reinvention of domestic and industrial appliances. Stakeholders from across the European gas value chain are collaborating on an interactive map to show the development of the system.