The green hydrogen network in Valencia will receive investment from Enagás totaling 575 million euros. The 450-kilometer-long route will link Cartagena’s hydrogen valley to the Ebro axis and the Barcelona-Marseille hydro pipeline (BarMar) in the north.
The goal, according to Enagás CEO Arturo Gonzalo, is to offer green hydrogen service as a gas substitute for the tile, chemical, and petrochemical industries, as well as the Manises airport and Valencian ports. Yesterday, Enagás and the Generalitat signed a contract to forward the project. The Consell’s president, Ximo Puig, emphasizes that the move toward green hydrogen is “a disruptive development” on the path toward decarbonization. The Enagás initiative joins that of BP, which is spending €2,000 million to enhance its Castelló refinery’s capacity for green hydrogen production.
As part of its plan to decarbonize the economy, the European Union is committed to the development of new fuel. The goal is to create hydrogen from water using electrolysis processes that are fueled by energy produced by offshore wind turbines and photovoltaic plants (in the Valencian Community’s example).
The Consell and Enagás agreement’s goal is for the Valencian Community to take the lead in the Mediterranean axis of the H2Med green hydrogen corridor in Europe. Enagás’ CEO promises that 2023 “The year of green hydrogen will come. That will be crucial in the effort to reduce carbon emissions. To build the complete hydrogen value chain, we must risk our capabilities.
Connecting the sectors of production and consumption will be crucial “. The new fuel from renewable sources, according to the manager of Enagas, “will make it possible to meet the consumption of large industrial areas of the Valencian Community,” including the ports of the three provinces, the chemical and petrochemical sector, the ceramics industry in Castelló, the chemical and petrochemical industry. Moreover, the Valencian Community has the potential to develop into “a center for the export of green hydrogen”.
Regasification facility in Sagunt
With 882 kilometers of gas pipeline and one of the six regasification plants accessible in Spain, located in Sagunt, Enagás has “quite deep roots” in the Valencian Community. According to Arturo Gonzalo, this arrangement is “one more step” in that direction. The firm claims that the Region accounts for 15% of Spain’s gas consumption, but the Sagunt plant really handles 17% of it.
The program is a component of the H2MED project, which calls for the construction of the first EU-wide green hydrogen corridor to link the energy grids of Spain, France, and northern Europe. Along with the Transmission System Operators (TSOs) of Portugal and France, Enagás presented H2MED as a potential Project of Common Interest (PCI) candidate for funding from the European Union in December.
Invest in renewables
In accordance with the prospects that exist in Europe following a year in 2022 in which there has been “a lot of hardship” with gas due to the price increase, Ximo Puig concurs with Enagás that “the inescapable need to speed” in renewable energy is necessary.
