This is the underwater tube that will link Spain and France: investment of 2,500 million, 455 kilometers of route and two million tons of hydrogen per year | Economy

The energy interconnections between the Iberian Peninsula and France will be a little less weak from 2030. The Spanish, Portuguese and French governments have agreed this Friday at the Euro-Mediterranean summit in Alicante the master lines of the submarine tube that will allow the transfer of two million tons of green hydrogen to the rest of the continent, and with which the European Union aspires to strengthen its security of supply, seriously injured by the blackmail to which Russia is subjecting it. These are the main keys of the project:

Why between Barcelona and Marseille?

The initial project to expand the current connections between Spain and France included the construction of a trans-Pyrenean gas pipeline, the so-called MidCat. Despite the fact that the Spanish section of the work was already advanced, pressure from the French government —which was directly opposed to this layout by the social movements against it on the French side of the mountain range— forced a radical twist in the script a few years ago. two months. To unblock the situation, Madrid put on the table the submarine alternative between Barcelona and Marseille. And Paris gave his arm to twist.

Although sources close to the project admit that France will have to invest more money in its network to allow the flow of green hydrogen to the countries of the center and north of the EU —with Germany always in the lead—, Marseille is presented as a good platform for the distribution of this gas to the most industrial enclaves of the Old Continent (northern Italy, Austria and Germany itself).

Why hasn’t the shortest route been chosen?

The technicians had three alternatives on the table. The A, the most direct, had a total length of 450 kilometers and a maximum depth of less than 1,000 meters, although with hills and valleys in the seabed that complicated and made the project more expensive. “Those differences in depth had to be avoided,” explain sources close to the project. Both B and C —the one finally chosen— have a similar maximum depth —just over 2,500 meters—, but the one that has ended up winning is somewhat shorter —455 kilometers compared to 474— and, therefore, also cheaper.

When will construction begin? How long will the work take?

The construction phase should begin at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026 and will take about 56 months, according to the schedule presented this Friday by the three executives involved. At the latest, if the times set this Friday are met, they should enter into force in 2030.

The “preliminary technical work”, which will cost approximately 35 million euros, will begin much sooner. The objective of Madrid, Paris and Lisbon is for the BarMar to reach the hands of the Community Executive as soon as next Thursday (December 15), coinciding with the summit of heads of state and government held in Brussels. The objective: that the analysis work of the European officials start soon and that the project can receive its approval as a project of community interest (PCI, for its acronym in English) as soon as possible. That you receive that label is a condition sine qua non so that Brussels loosens the checkbook.

Why will it carry hydrogen and not natural gas?

Although in 2030 gas of fossil origin and green hydrogen will still coexist in the mixed energetic —the first, in a declining phase; the second, clearly ascending—, the idea is that only the second passes through the tube. The main reason is economic in nature: to receive the PCI label, the infrastructure must be designed solely for the transfer of renewable fuels. And natural gas, by far the most consumed fuel by European industry today, is not.

Where does the money come from?

In the midst of the energy crisis and with the European Commission committed to the promise of green hydrogen, the three governments have seen a powerful vein of opportunity so that a key infrastructure in the future can get ahead at a relatively low cost for their treasuries. The key is in the European money: if it ends up being considered as a project of Community interest – something that, following the words of Ursula Von der Leyen (“the project is clearly going in the right direction and I welcome you to apply for the community funds”), it can be taken practically for granted—, between 30% and 50% of the 2,500 million euros that it will cost will come from European coffers. Madrid, Paris and Lisbon are confident that the final figure will be in the upper part of the band: that up to half of the money will come from Brussels.

How is the Portuguese branch?

Although much larger, the BarMar is only one of the two legs of the H2Med project, the first of the hydrogen corridors proposed by the Community Executive for the coming years. The other is a terrestrial tube with another 71 centimeters in diameter and 248 kilometers in length between Celorico da Beira and Zamora. It will cost 350 million euros and, unlike its older brother, it will be built and operated by the operators of the Spanish (Enagás) and Portuguese (REN) gas systems on both sides of the border. In the case of the tube between Spain and France, the powers for its development will fall on a joint venture of Enagás and the galas Teréga and GRTgaz.

Why are Spain and Portugal called to be a power in the era of renewable hydrogen?

The Iberian Peninsula is one of the best points in Europe for the generation of photovoltaic solar energy, both due to availability of land and —above all— due to irradiation and hours of sunshine. Also one of the few where there are still sites available for the installation of wind farms. In addition, unlike other corners of the continent, the Spanish coasts are completely virgin of wind turbines. The result: it has one of the cheapest renewable energy generation costs on the Old Continent.

Given that clean electricity is the most expensive ingredient in the recipe for renewable hydrogen —vital for the decarbonization of heavy industry, aviation or freight transport—, both Spain and Portugal start with several bodies ahead of the rest for the production of this kind of oil of the future. According to the calculations of the Spanish Government, the national production of green hydrogen will be enough to supply the entire internal market at the end of this decade, so that they will be able to start exporting to other European partners.

The great plan of the European Commission to face the energy crisis, the so-called RepowerEU, contemplates that in 2030 the joint production of Spain, France and Portugal —together— will exceed demand by more than 50%. Ten years later, that surplus will exceed 60%. In Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and the Czech Republic – the heart of European industry – the tables will be exactly the opposite: by 2030, its demand will more than double its supply. In 2040, it will almost triple it.

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