Next week, the three countries will present the project’s candidacy for European funding. It is estimated that the H2MED will cost around 2,500 million euros
The green hydrogen corridor project that will connect Portugal, Spain and France will be essential for European energy autonomy. So much so that Brussels is already working to classify it as “a project of common interest” and therefore has access to European funds that would cover up to 50% of the total cost of the corridor. This was confirmed by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in her speech to the leaders of the three Member States in Alicante, where she stressed that hydrogen will be “vital” for the energy independence of the European Union (EU).
The corridor between Portugal and France, called H2MED, will be “strategic” to transport this energy across the continent and supply European industry, von der Leyen stressed. “The Iberian Peninsula is destined to become a major ‘energy hub’,” he stressed. Spanish government president Pedro Sánchez has set out that the initiative, which was created as an alternative to the failed MidCat, will become the largest hydrogen corridor in the EU. “We expect it to be up and running by 2030 and cost around €2,500 million,” he said. In this sense, the three countries involved in the project plan to present their candidacy to apply for European funds next week.
The connection between the Portuguese city of Celourico da Beira (Portugal) – Zamora and Barcelona-Marseille will transport 10% of the European green hydrogen consumption, or about two million tons per year. “It will be a fundamental infrastructure for the bloc’s energy autonomy and decarbonization,” Sánchez summarized.
French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that H2MED responds to the main European objectives for the coming years. “On the one hand, it has an ecological purpose, decarbonisation and the reindustrialisation and innovation of the EU.” This project, together with the electrical interconnection between Spain and France via the Bay of Biscay, will provide “an improvement in interconnections” and an “integrated electrical network, essential for improving our electricity production capacities”.
For its part, the Portuguese leader, António Costa, stressed that this initiative “completely changes the energy trend” as it is designed to carry only green hydrogen. “We will not only be an importer and exporter of energy, but we will be able to strengthen our role as a producer.” The H2MED will not only meet the needs of the three countries, but will also supply hydrogen to the entire EU at a relevant time, he said, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s energy use as part of its blackmail of the EU -block. .
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
