For its part, the Minister of Sustainable development, Mercedes Gómez, stressed that the new trunk network of green hydrogen that includes Castilla-La Mancha and Puertollano “is a transcendental historical milestone for the industrial sector of the region because it will contribute to decarbonize, also promoting the installation of companies that will collaborate to implement a green economy in the region that will facilitate the creation of employment”.
The CEO of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo, stressed that “the Conagás Public Participation Conceptual Plan for the development of the Spanish Hydrogen Network is a key participatory process to give voice to citizens and institutions in a country project that will reinforce economic and social development from the territories, promoting a more autonomous, competitive and clean energy framework”.
The PCPP will collect the contributions of autonomous communities, municipalities, as well as more than 50 public administrations and 380 organizations and associations, and all citizens interested in participating. A duration of 18 months is expected for the deployment of the PCPP in the 13 autonomous communities through which it will pass and its corresponding sections of the network, at the end of which a final report of results of the process will be prepared.
The objective is to share with all interest groups information about the future hydrogen network, resolve doubts, explain the need for the project, promote the active participation of communities in the process, mitigate impacts on the territory and guarantee the most appropriate actions from the social and environmental point of view, from an early stage.
Castilla-La Mancha as a starting point
Castilla-La Mancha is the first Autonomous Community in which Enagás will hold participatory days and meetings with citizens and administrations, from next week and during the months of April, May and June, in 13 municipalities of the province of Ciudad Real: Guadalmez, Chillón, Almadén, Priest, Cabazarados, Abenójar, Villamayor de Calatrava, Almodóvar del Camp Brazatattas, Alamillo, Almadenejos and Puertollano. In this last town, the conference will take place on May 30 and June 2.
After Castilla-La Mancha, the following autonomous communities will be those of Extremadura and Andalucía and, in a row and staggered for a total of 18 months, the PCPP will travel through the autonomies of Cantabria, Castilla y León, Principality of Asturias, Basque Country, Navarra, La Rioja, Aragon, Catalonia, Community Valencian and Murcia. The territorial deployment of the plan will be accompanied by the development of engineering studies, with the aim of fulfilling the project calendar and maximizing public participation.
Enagás advances with its PCI as planned
As a project of common interest (PCI) of the European Commission – according to the provisions of the Regulations of the European Union No. 347/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council of April 17, 2013 -, the Enagás PCPP will make the characteristics and fundamental information of the project of the future Spanish hydrogen network available to all stakeholders. The company is advancing, as planned, in the development of the future, the Hydrogen Troncal Network of Spain and the H2Med corridor.
The European Climate Executive Agency, Infrastructure and Environment (CINEA) awarded in January 100% of the funds requested by Enagás to the mechanism Connecting Europe Facility for the phase of studies and engineering of these projects. The future network – including associated storage – has received 40.2 million euros, and H2Med, which encompasses interconnections with France (Barmar) and with Portugal (Celza), has obtained 35.5 million euros.
2,600 kilometers of Spanish hydrogen network
The project of the first axes of the Internal Hydrogen Network in Spain consists in the development of about 2,600 kilometers of underground, new or converted ducts, grouped into 15 sections and 5 axes: the Vía de la Plata axis (about 875 kilometers and four sections), the Cantabrian Cornisa axis (about 440 kilometers and three sections), the lift axis (about 505 kilometers and four kilometers sections), the Castilla-La Mancha transverse axis (about 235 kilometers and a section) and the Ebro valley axis (around 535 kilometers and three sections).
The new network will run in more than 80% through the existing gas infrastructure trace. 21% of the network will lead to the reuse of current gas pipelines. In the construction, the existing infrastructure corridors will be used avoiding conditions to natural spaces, protected and water courses, as well as urban nuclei and areas of high population density.
The previous studies of the project foresee about 110 newly construction valve positions, which will be located at a distance from each other about 20 or 30 km along the same line of the pipeline. They will have remote drive and control systems, as well as permanent monitoring to guarantee safe operation. These preliminary studies estimate the need for three compression stations located in Cores (Zamora), Tivissa (Tarragona) and Villar de Arnedo (La Rioja).
In the technical field, the company has launched the conceptual engineering of the Troncal Hydrogen Network in Spain and has already awarded the basic engineering of compression stations and hydroots. In addition, he has made a pre -selection of suppliers of pipes and compressors, and has reinforced the engineering team that will carry out the works.
In addition, Enagás presented in November four new sections of the trunk network to the second call of European Common Interest projects (PCI). Its development, which includes additional 1,480 kilometers of layout and is planned from 2030, will allow all peninsular autonomous communities to be connected to the hydrogen network.
Enagás is Hydrogen Transmission Network Operator (HTNO) Provisional, designated by Royal Decree-Law 8/2023. Through its subsidiary Enagás Hydrogen Infrastructure, has been enabled by agreement of the Council of Ministers of July 30, 2024 to develop the first axes of the hydrogen network, selected as a project of common European interest (PCI 9.1.3. Internal hydrogen infrastructure of Spain). The initial phase of this PCI contemplates the execution of a conceptual public participation plan, approved by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge in January of this year.
Next to this process, Enagás has launched the website https://www.infrastructuresdehydrogeno.es/ with all the information of the available public participation plan.
Related news :