Scholz and Macron announce that they will take the hydrogen from H2Med to Germany

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, have announced this Sunday that they will bring green hydrogen from the Iberian Peninsula to Germany and that it will be transported through the H2Med submarine tube between Barcelona and Marseille. The commitment to build "the necessary national and transnational infrastructures" to make the connection with the H2Med represents another very important boost to the ambitious energy project proposed by Pedro Sánchez as an alternative to the Midcat gas pipeline, vetoed by France.

The announcement came after the Franco-German summit held in Paris to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Élysée treaty, signed by President Charles de Gaulle and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, which sealed reconciliation between the two countries after World War II. World. The express will to extend the H2Med to Germany gives even more consistency to the initiative and rewards the perseverance of the Spanish Government, which "has been informed and consulted from the beginning" about the Franco-German dialogue on this issue, according to Moncloa sources. .

The Franco-German commitment is an important boost to the project promoted by Pedro Sánchez and rewards Spanish perseverance

Paris and Berlin speak in their joint declaration of taking "the necessary steps for a hydrogen transport backbone across Europe, including the necessary national and transnational hydrogen infrastructures, in particular the extension of the connection of existing and planned infrastructures. , including the extension of the H2Med pipeline to Germany, in close collaboration with the partners involved, and to extend and reinforce the electrical network in the entire European Union". The intention of Germany and France is to develop "large-scale hydrogen production", based "on robust local production" and the "necessary sustainable imports".

At the joint press conference, Macron alluded to H2Med, which will be "at the heart of the hydrogen strategy" in Europe in the coming years. The French president stressed that "Germany will be a partner in this hydrogen infrastructure strategy" and that the intention is that the tube does not end in German territory and continues "through central and eastern Europe". While pronouncing these words Scholz nodded. When it was his turn, the German chancellor said it was in his country's interest that hydrogen be available "at the right prices and in sufficient quantities." That strategy, according to Scholz, will only be possible if the Europeans act together. At the insistence of a German journalist, the chancellor considered that H2Med is "an excellent project for the future" and valued the very good work of consultation with the affected partners. Scholz called H2Med an "excellent project for the future."

Scholz says Germany wants hydrogen "at the right prices and in sufficient quantities" and that is only possible if Europe acts together

The progress of the H2Med project culminates a diplomatic effort that has not been a bed of roses. The initiative proposed by Sánchez replaced the initial Midcat gas pipeline project, which Macron opposed on the grounds that it was investing in an energy, natural gas, that would soon be obsolete, for environmental reasons, as well as fear of environmental protests in the South of France.

H2Med is in the process of obtaining European funding and expects to be operational in 2030

H2Med, the first renewable hydrogen corridor in the EU, aspires to receive European funding. A little over a month ago, it was submitted to the call for Projects of Common Interest (PCI). The project, initially promoted by the governments of Spain, Portugal and France, includes two cross-border infrastructures, one between the Portuguese town of Celorico de Beira and Zamora, and another, underwater, between Barcelona and Marseille. The respective carriers and managers of the gas systems will participate: Enagás on the Spanish side, the Portuguese REN and GRTgaz and Terega on the French side.

The estimated cost of H2Med is 2,500 million euros, to which another 4,670 million will have to be added for the infrastructures in the Iberian Peninsula, between the connections and two saline storage cavities. The idea is that the tube to transport hydrogen will be operational in 2030.

On the energy issue, Macron expressed the common will to "work on the gas purchase mechanisms" and to act on "the essential reform of the electricity market."