Spain-France pipeline to take around 5 years to build, says Spanish minister

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - A newly proposed pipeline connecting Barcelona and Marseille could be operational in “four or five years,” Spain’s Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said on Friday.

On Thursday, Spain, Portugal, and France agreed to leave behind the contentious Midcat pipeline, which would have connected Spain and France through the Pyrenees Mountains.

Spain said the Midcat could have been operational by 2023, but France rejected the proposal.

Speaking to Spanish broadcaster Antena3, Ribera admitted that there were design problems with the Midcat, which has already been partially built.

“A pipeline designed solely to transport natural gas isn’t the same as one built to carry hydrogen,” said Ribera.

The new plan is to create a submarine pipeline that could transport “green hydrogen” from Spain to the European pipeline network. It could also transport natural gas.

The submarine pipeline, however, is “technically complex” and will require significant environmental and safety analysis.

With the new timeline, the newly dubbed BarMar pipeline will be unable to address Europe’s short-term energy supply crunch.

Even so, Ribera said it will be presented as a Project of Common European Interest in the hopes that it will receive EU financing.

“This isn’t just for Spain and France, … other EU countries (also) need the diversified energy supplies,” she said.

Spain is currently home to around 45% of Spain’s liquified natural gas storage capacity, according to public grid operator Enagas.

But the country is also betting big on green hydrogen.

Last year, Spain announced it would invest €1.55 billion ($1.52 billion) in the EU Next Generation Funds over three years. The Spanish energy company Repsol also announced a €2.5 billion investment in the technology.