Spain, France and Portugal governments are considering developing the Enagas Spain France BarMar H2Med Hydrogen Pipeline, also known as H2Med of Bar Mar, a subsea hydrogen and gas pipeline between Barcelona, Spain and Marseille, France.
After Russian invasion in Ukraine, Europe decided to boost its energy dependency through its RePowerEU.
The BarMar pipeline is presented as the new alternative after the failure of the extension project of the MidCat gas pipeline that will have cost about $3 billion.
The BarMar pipeline should meet help Spain and Portugal to supply Europe with hydrogen and gas.
European Union policy to reach zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050, and hydrogen
The Spanish state-owned utility and midstream company, Enagas, should be the leader of the project, assisted by the French state-owned midstream company, GRTgaz.
Project History
With its natural gas terminal, Spain is not producing gas by itself but mostly import it from Algeria, USA and Nigeria to supply Europe.
This project will set Spain as a new key player in the European energy strategy.
The BarMar pipeline should be above 300 kilometers (km) long between Barcelona and Marseille.
The project is still at pre-front end engineering, and design (pre-FEED) stage, as the agreement between the countries involved has just been signed.
The FEED could start in 2023, the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) should follow by 2025, with operations expected for 2028.
— December 2023 —
The project has been added to the list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), which should be validated early 2024 by European Parliament and EU Council.
If awarded the project should move to FEED by 2025, the project should enter in operations before 2030.
— November 2024 —
As part off the feasibility study, Enagas and its partners are initiating a Call for Interest (CfI) to evaluate the future needs of hydrogen users across Europe. The purpose is to optimise hydrogen transportation and storage infrastructures in line with the regional demand.
— February 2025 —
The project should receive up to $30 million from the EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Energy program.
This award is part of 41 projects selected by EU’s CEF program, which aims to show positive sign in European hydrogen development.
In parallel, Enagas is collecting the feedback from its CfI from the potential hydrogen end users.
From this assessment and founding, the FEED work should start in 2025 as Enagas still expects to make the final investment decision (FID) in 2027.
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