Call for Interest for H2Med hydrogen corridor delivers positive results, TSOs say

A Call for Interest in the H2Med project – the first European major hydrogen corridor – has delivered “strong outcomes” and confirmed H2Med’s role in achieving Europe’s decarbonization and deindustrialization objectives, the project promoters revealed.

H2Med is a transnational initiative to interconnect the hydrogen networks from the Iberian Peninsula to North-Western Europe involving Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany. It consists of a hydrogen interconnection between Portugal and Spain (CelZa) and a subsea pipeline connecting Spain and France (BarMar).

Five transmission system operators (TSOs) involved in the project – Enagás, NaTran (formerly GRTgaz), OGE, REN, and Teréga launched the Call for Interest on November 7, 2024, to identify the needs of all the regions along the H2med corridor, particularly the national hydrogen backbones developed by the five project promoters by the early 2030s.

It also aimed to assess the needs of future infrastructure users across the entire hydrogen value chain.

The results, revealed in the last week of January 2025 and officially presented on February 10, are expected to help optimize infrastructure design and establish operational specifications.

As reported, nearly 170 companies responded with over 500 projects, demonstrating “a strong interest” in the proposed infrastructure and confirming H2med’s role in achieving European stakeholders’ decarbonization and reindustrialization objectives.

These results show the importance of the H2med project in line with the REPowerEU framework – which aims for 10 Mt of domestically produced renewable and fossil-free hydrogen and 10 Mt from imports – and the recent Net Zero Industry Act, the TSOs explained.

The Iberian Peninsula demonstrated a strong export potential as of 2030 (0.4 Mt/year for Portugal and 1.22 Mt/year for Spain), reaching full BarMar capacity as of 2032. This call to the market also revealed interest from the Northern African countries in transiting their hydrogen production into Europe from 2040.

In France, the CFI showed “significant volumes” with strong market consumption and production trends. Consumption could reach nearly 0.9 Mt/year by 2050, driven primarily by the chemical industry and e-fuels production for the mobility sector. Part of French national production is expected to be exported through HY-FEN towards Germany.

Furthermore, West German consumption projects focussing on supply from H2med will take up half of the hydrogen corrido’s capacity by 2035. The H2med corridor is making a significant contribution to meet this demand, expected to reach 17 to 21 Mt/year by 2040, according to the German Ministry of Economics and Climate Affairs.

The figures collected by OGE reflect only part of the global German consumption, as primarily OGE’s potential hydrogen customer base has participated in the Call for Interest. According to the German-wide survey performed in 2024, about a third of the total German offtake can be allocated to OGE’s potential hydrogen customer base. Thus, the feedback from this part of the German market is encouraging regarding the role of hydrogen in the future decarbonized economy, the TSO reported.

The project promoters also presented the next steps in the development of the H2Med corridor.

One of the steps involves extending the H2med Alliance created last December in Madrid by the H2med promoters (REN, Enagás, Teréga, NaTran, OGE), German and Spanish government representatives, and private companies along the whole value chain supporting the initiative. This alliance will be tasked with a commercial and advocacy role, ensuring continued support for the corridor through regular meetings.

Addressing challenges linked to the necessity of aligning the timeline of the Hydrogen & Decarbonised Gas Market Package transposition across the involved member states is also on the agenda to help de-risk infrastructure projects and facilitate industrial commitments.

Finally, the project promoters intend to develop and animate the match-making platform to allow registration of new projects, foster market developments and help build commercial relationships for future collaborations.