Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stated on Friday that an underwater pipeline to transport green hydrogen between Spain and France will cost approximately 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion), adding that he hoped the European Union will partially fund the project.
By the end of the decade, the pipeline from Barcelona to Marseille will be completed and have a 2 million ton annual capacity, according to Sanchez.
The choice to move forward with the project was made at a time when the energy crisis brought on by the conflict in Ukraine has hastened European ambitions to support renewable energy as a substitute for Russian gas.
Electrolysers fueled by renewable energy are used to produce green hydrogen. The Iberian peninsula’s plentiful sunshine and wind, which are used to generate renewable energy, will make creating the hydrogen competitive, according to Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the pipeline could also be used to transport so-called red hydrogen, or hydrogen produced in France from nuclear energy, in the reverse way.
According to Reuters, the 455-kilometre (280-mile) pipeline’s undersea portion will cost roughly 2 billion euros, with a possible increase to 3 billion depending on the route.
The full hydrogen corridor linking France, Spain, and Portugal will be referred to as H2MED, while the undersea portion will be referred to as BarMar.
According to Sanchez, France, Spain, and Portugal would ask for EU funding to cover up to 50% of the cost of H2MED.
