The three gas network operators involved in the H2med hydrogen import corridor have announced an important milestone for the project: Enagás (Spain) - through its subsidiary Enagás Infraestructuras de Hidrógeno (EIH) -, NaTran and Teréga (France) have signed the shareholder agreement for BarMar.
The agreement provides for the establishment of a joint venture. This will be dedicated to the development of the BarMar PCI project. This is a pipeline for renewable hydrogen that will connect Barcelona (Spain) with Marseille (France). Together with the CelZa pipeline project, this pipeline forms an important part of the H2med corridor. The three gas network operators had already reached an agreement on this in June 2024. The joint venture creates a clear structure and is intended to accelerate the realisation of BarMar. The H2med import corridor is expected to cover around 10 % of European H2 consumption by around 2030. The H2med partners are the companies Enagás, NaTran, OGE, REN and Teréga.
BarMar as the foundation
The joint venture, which is based in the south of France (Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region), forms the backbone of the BarMar project. The shares are split between EIH-Enagás with 50 %, NaTran with 33.3 % and Teréga with 16.7 %, which corresponds to the shares in the H2med project. Spain and France each hold a 50 % stake in the project. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the new company is Francisco Pablo de la Flor García from Enagás, who has worked in the energy and natural gas sector for more than 35 years.
The recently signed subsidy agreements with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) for the BarMar and CelZa (Celorico-Zamora) projects strengthen the project's momentum. The promised funding corresponds 100 % to the funds applied for (under the Connecting Europe Facility) and covers 50% of the development costs. These funds are crucial for the start of the technical studies, maritime surveys and environmental impact assessments required for the authorisation process.
