2023-11-10 07:30:20
Europe is preparing the infrastructure necessary for the future hydrogen market. In this context, are you familiar with the H2Med corridor project and its Barmar submarine interconnection in the Mediterranean? Presentation with Jean-Marc Brimont, director of European affairs at GRTgaz.
To replace fossil fuels in industry and heavy transport with hydrogen between 2030 and 2050, new production capacities and new infrastructure must be planned quickly. Europe thus plans to develop a European hydrogen backbone (“European Hydrogen Backbone”, EHB). This is a dedicated hydrogen transport network across Europe, backed by the development of large “hydrogen corridors” in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Sea. In particular, France is involved in the H2Med project (for Mediterranean hydrogen), a hydrogen corridor linking Portugal to Germany. The objective is to develop a market in France and Germany for hydrogen produced in the Iberian Peninsula.
In this perspective, the RepowerEU plan sets a production objective of 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen at European level and 10 million tonnes of imports by 2030. The H2Med project will be able to transport up to 2 million tonnes of hydrogen per year. This represents 10% of the European objective. Jean-Marc Brimont, director of European affairs at GRTgaz, and company representative in the H2Med consortium, explains to Techniques de l’Ingénieur the challenges of this project.
Engineering techniques: When was this project born and why?
Jean-Marc Brimont: The H2Med project was officially launched by the joint declaration of Emmanuel Macron and the heads of government of Spain and Portugal in Alicante, Spain, in December 2022. This green energy corridor includes in particular an interconnection between Portugal and Spain , as well as a submarine interconnection between Spain and France. The latter called BARMAR [pour Barcelone-Marseille, ndlr] connects Barcelona to Marseille under the Mediterranean Sea.
The French President and Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed on January 22, 2023 to expand the corridor to Germany, a country seen as a future major hydrogen importer in Europe. In France, a backbone will connect Marseille to Obergailbach, close to the Franco-German border. The interconnection between the two countries will connect to the German H2ercules project, which will connect the German backbone to the border with the Czech Republic and Austria. This opens up the field to the south of Germany, but also to the heart of the German network and to Central Europe.
The ambition is to develop a structure with a pure hydrogen transport capacity of 2 million tonnes by 2030. We anticipate progressive use of the structure and operation at full capacity following 2030. These elements will be specified during future studies and market consultations, and will depend on the commitments of market players.
Who are the project leaders and financiers?
The Barcelona-Marseille submarine interconnection was estimated at 2.135 billion euros, the Spain-Portugal interconnection at 350 million euros. The investors are the Portuguese (REN), Spanish (Enagás), French (GRTgaz and Terega) and German (OGE) gas transmission network managers.
This is an infrastructure developed by private investors and which will require public support to see the light of day. Access to this infrastructure will be transparent and non-discriminatory. Hydrogen producers who wish to charter their hydrogen and consumers who wish to connect will pay a usage fee. Let us specify here that this will be hydrogen compatible with the requirements of the European Directive on renewable energies. Namely hydrogen obtained by electrolysis of water with electricity from renewable sources and, under certain conditions, low-carbon hydrogen obtained from electricity from the network.
Given its strategic nature and the common interest it represents for the European continent, we have worked to ensure that the project is labeled as a Project of Common Interest (PCI) at the European level. This allows access to European subsidies from the CFE-E fund intended for studies and construction and to have simplified administrative procedures. PCI labeling should materialize at the end of November with the commission’s proposed list of projects [liste qui sera confirmée début 2024 par le Parlement et le Conseil, ndlr].
When are the start of work and commissioning planned?
The ambition of the heads of state and government is to put it into service in 2030. The European Commission foresees the same deadline for the establishment of the large hydrogen market. At this stage, the consortium is hard at work to meet this ambitious schedule.
With this in mind, we plan to carry out feasibility studies by the end of 2025. The environmental studies and technical designs will make it possible to clearly identify the least impact route of the pipeline across the Mediterranean. They will also make it possible to size the structures on land. The consortium will also have the opportunity to consult market players and confirm their interest. We will operate with successive market call systems to define capacities. The final investment decision is planned for sometime in 2026.
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