Underwater pipeline to bring hydrogen to Europe will be completed by 2030

An ambitious underwater pipeline to bring hydrogen from the Iberian Peninsula to the rest of Europe will be completed by 2030 and cost some 2.5 billion euros, the leaders of France, Spain and Portugal said. The H2Med project comes as Europe is scrambling to reduce its dependence on Russian energy following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. It is also seen as helping Europe transition away from fossil fuels to cleaner energy.

The pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille — also known as the “BarMar” project — will carry two million tonnes of hydrogen per year, or 10 percent of expected European consumption, once it goes online, said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. “It is going to be the first major hydrogen corridor in the European Union,” Sanchez said. The project will cost around 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion), he said at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

The three leaders formally signed off on the plans in the presence of EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of a regional EU summit. Following the talks, they released a roadmap and timeline for completing H2Med which they hope will be partially covered by European funds. If approved by Brussels, European funding could cover about half the cost, 1.2 billion euros, French sources said. The remainder could be borne by future consumers in a process that is still to be set out.