On 30 January, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) approved grants of around 35.5 million euros for the H2med project studies submitted as part of the CEF Energy Call 2024. H2med is Europe's first major corridor for green hydrogen, which will connect the national H2 core networks.
CINEA has asked the H2med project sponsors to prepare a corresponding agreement following the successful selection of a proposal for the aforementioned studies. Following the inclusion of the H2med projects CelZa and BarMar in the list of European Projects of Common Interest (PCI) in 2024, this represents the next important organisational and financial step. The H2med partners are looking forward to working with CINEA on the upcoming CEF funding milestones.
The funding of around 28 million euros will enable the H2med BarMar consortium to partially finance technical studies, including marine and environmental surveys. For the H2Med CelZa project, around 7 million euros will be used for the basic and detailed planning of the pipeline and the compressor station. The funding will also support both projects in environmental impact assessments and obtaining permits.
Positive momentum since the H2med Alliance was founded
As the technical studies have shown, the H2med sponsors intend to apply for a further CEF Energy call in order to be able to make a final investment decision.
In December, the project partners founded the H2med Alliance in Madrid and signed a memorandum of understanding between the German and Spanish governments, five gas network operators and other companies along the hydrogen value chain. This alliance will take on a coordinating role in order to continuously support the corridor. Interested parties should be able to contact the responsible TSO in their region.
There are also reports of positive momentum on the commercial side in connection with the results. After closing the call for expressions of interest (CFI) in January, the H2med team plans to present the results in a webinar on 10 February at 10 am CET.
