Enagás has today laid the first bureaucratic stone of one of the most ambitious infrastructure plans for the coming years in Spain, that of creating a national network of hydroducts to transport hydrogen throughout the country and connect production centers with industries and also with the H2Med that will take the new green fuel from Barcelona to Marseille.
The company's directors organized a 'call of interest' this morning with almost a thousand participants who were asked to report their projects and interests regarding the new infrastructure. The initial forecast is that it will attract investments of 5,000 million euros for its launch in 2030.
"More than 95% of hydrogen producers and consumers have already given their support by letter" to the hydroduct backbone project, stated the CEO of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo, during the presentation of the process to gather signs of interest. Enagás is committed to collecting the information confidentially and independently.
The objective is to deploy 3,000 kilometers in tubes through two large branches. One, valued at 1,650 million, corresponds to the axis of Cantabria, Ebro and Levante, while the other, worth 2,275 million, will connect the Andalusian hydrogen hubs with Puertollano and Galicia via the Silver Route. There are another 580 million for storage in the Cantabrian Sea and 590 million for another in the Basque Country.
"We need to know the demand side, the decarbonization plans of our country's industries and determine the export capacity of H2Med," explained Gonzalo, before remembering that the projects may receive financing from the European Union.
The expression of interest phase will close in November and the results will be presented in January to activate, during 2024, an 'open season' in which the projects are finalized in a non-binding manner. A year later, in 2025, the projects will be binding and the moment of truth will arrive. Work will begin to have them operational in 2030.
The general director of Energy Transition at Enagás, Natalia Latorre, has explained that the two new storages and the hydrogen found inside the tubes will be enough to provide a continued reserve for the country and compensate for the interruptions in the production of this green fuel at from renewables.
The objective is for Spain to produce 10 million tons of green hydrogen in 2030. According to the Government's infrastructure development plan until that date, the PNIEC, it will be necessary to have a capacity of 11,000 megawatts (MW) destined for this new technology. .
"The result of the 'call of interest' will also help us know how many sections of gas pipelines can be reused for hydrogen," said Latorre. Current tubes can transport hydrogen, but only what is idle can be used.
Enagás estimates that there are some 475 kilometers of current gas pipeline network that can already be used as hydroducts. A process of "gas deplaning for subsequent hydrogen planning" will be necessary, Latorre indicated.
