A final investment decision (FID) for the H2Med cross-border European hydrogen corridor is unlikely to be taken before 2028, according to Spanish gas transmission system operator (TSO) Enagas.
The FID will "have to be connected to [the awarding] of European funding necessary to undertake the development of the infrastructure", a process that could take some years, Enagas' chief financial officer Luis Romero Urrestarazu said during the company's results call today.
Enagas and the H2Med partners are carrying out preliminary studies, for which the European Commission approved funding of €97.3mn ($102mn), the Spanish firm said. Once studies are completed, the firms will "have to go through a whole series of procedures with the European institutions," Urrestarazu said.
"We have to file the investment project with the regulators, and eventually, we'll be able to request the funds for construction," he said.
Because of this process, Enagas does not see FID for H2Med being taken before 2028. The H2Med consortium will announce more details "when we have more visibility of the timeline," he said.
The H2Med corridor aims to transport renewable hydrogen from production centres in the Iberia peninsular to buyers in Germany. Its promoters are targeting 2mn t/yr of transport capacity by 2030, but that appears to be an ambitious timeline with the FID still years away.
Enagas plans to take FID for the Spanish hydrogen backbone, which is part of H2Med, by the end of 2027, targeting commissioning in 2030. The company received approval from the Spanish government in late 2023 to be provisional operator of the country's hydrogen grid. This allows it to start the public consultation process and the environmental impact plan, according to Urrestarazu.
The Spanish network is planned to have 2,600km of pipelines, 21pc of which will be repurposed gas pipelines, and two underground storage facilities. The TSO is proposing extensions to the backbone's original plans following a recent market survey.
In addition to the pipelines, Enagas is developing a network of six hydrogen refuelling stations in Spain, which is expects to start commissioning in 2027. The facilities are planned to have combined supply capacity for 6 t/d of hydrogen, which could refuel 300 trucks per day.
Overall, Enagas plans to invest more than €3.1bn in hydrogen infrastructure until 2030. It is also developing infrastructure for CO2 capture, storage and liquefaction in industrial areas, as well as ammonia facilities around ports in Spain.
