In the midst of the climate crisis, green hydrogen is increasingly being promoted as the panacea for the energy transition in various sectors and as a key factor in achieving climate neutrality. The European Union has made green hydrogen a priority within its strategies and investment plans, planning for the consumption of 20 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. As a result, numerous green hydrogen projects and initiatives have emerged that foresee the export of substantial quantities of this resource, such as the H2Med project. However, concerns remain as to whether such initiatives are adequately addressing potential drawbacks or exploring more sustainable alternatives.

The hidden costs of H2Med

The H2Med pipeline project aims to transport green hydrogen from Portugal through Spain, across the Mediterranean Sea, to France and finally to Germany. The project envisages the construction of two main sections: CelZa and BarMar.

The CelZa section connects Celorico da Beira (Portugal) to Zamora (Spain). It spans 162 km within Portuguese territory, has a capacity of 750 kton of green hydrogen per year and is expected to cost €350 million. Producing this volume of green hydrogen would require approximately 6-7 GW of electrolyser capacity, exceeding the 3 GW targets set in the Portuguese National Energy and Climate Plan. In addition, 14-17 GW of new renewable energy capacity would be needed, doubling the amount of renewable energy installed in Portugal by 2023.

The BarMar section is an underwater segment linking Barcelona (Spain) to Marseille (France). It covers 455 km under the Mediterranean Sea and is expected to cost 2.5 billion euros. In total, the H2Med will be able to transport up to 2 million tonnes of H2 per year by 2030.

With these targets, the Iberian Peninsula would contribute 10% of the EU targets, or 20% of the domestic production targets . It would entail the installation of at least 40 GW of new renewable capacity in Portugal and Spain, creating competition for land, renewable energy resources and electricity transport infrastructure that could jeopardise the availability of renewable energy for domestic consumption. This substantial increase in renewable energy capacity could have a significant impact on ecosystems, potentially altering habitats and threatening biodiversity.

If the pipeline is completed but there is not enough green hydrogen available, the alternative option will be to blend it with fossil gas. This approach risks prolonging the dependence on fossil gas for decades, increasing energy dependence on foreign sources and remaining a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

How much hydrogen does Central Europe need?

To date, there is no reliable data on the exact future demand for green hydrogen in Central Europe. The EU Court of Auditors itself questioned the technical basis of the European targets and denounced that “ the Commission did not carry out rigorous analyses before setting the EU’s green hydrogen production and import targets ” – a total of 20 million tonnes by 2030. This growing enthusiasm lacked in-depth analysis and debate on the pros and cons of green hydrogen, as well as a critical assessment of its role compared to other transition options.

Without real demand at European level, nor the prospect of green hydrogen production for export, the pipeline could represent a waste of public funds. In addition, transporting hydrogen is technically difficult and consumes substantial amounts of energy, so prioritising local hydrogen production and consumption is more efficient. Targeted only for hard-to-electrify sectors (e.g. steel, ammonia, aviation and shipping), after implementing demand reduction measures.

For all these reasons, the signatories of the position paper agree on a negative assessment of the push for the development of large hydrogen transport and export infrastructures, such as H2Med. Instead, public funds allocated to H2Med could be better spent on proven effective alternatives, such as demand reduction, direct electrification, self-consumption, energy communities and improved energy efficiency.

Source: https://gasnoessolucion.org/2024/12/19/union-iberica-contra-el-gasoducto-h2med/

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