The French gas transmission system operator (TSO) Natran, a subsidiary of utility Engie, has formed a joint venture with the French storage operator Teréga and its Spanish counterpart Enagás to develop the cross-border BarMar hydrogen pipeline. Following a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) signed in July 2024, the joint venture’s ownership is divided as follows: EIH-Enagás holds 50%, Natran 33.3%, and Teréga 16.7%. The H2Med project is equally shared between Spain and France.
The project, known as the Barcelona-to-Marseille underwater pipeline (or BarMar) is a key component of the €2.5bn H2Med hydrogen pipeline initiative, which aims to connect Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany by 2030. The final investment decision (FID) on the project is expected in 2028 at the earliest. Once completed, H2Med is expected to transport up to 2 Mt/year of renewable hydrogen, representing approximately 10% of the EU’s projected hydrogen consumption by 2030.
The European Union sees green hydrogen as a crucial solution to reduce reliance on natural gas and lower carbon emissions.