A major European hydrogen corridor project promoted by Enagas in Spain to connect the peninsula to Europe proposes the construction of a large warehouse for this gas in the Basque Country. An element considered as “facilitating infrastructure” to maintain the flow of the hydroduct. While waiting for the steps of the process to qualify in the Program of Community Interest (PIC) of Brussels, several Basque companies are already positioning themselves in the competition for the management of this hydrogen tank, which will be installed using saline water. Vents of Euskadi orography.
This is the case of the main pipe manufacturers: Tubasex and Tubos Renidos, together with engineering companies Iberdrola and Team Group and Damoin, have presented a plan to develop a hydrogen storage management system in these caves.
590
Millions
Enakas estimates the budget for building a hydrogen store in Euskadi.
The initiative received final approval on July 20 at the Ministry of Environmental Change to receive 1.66 million European funds within PERTE (Strategic Projects) for hydrogen.
The project is led by Biscayne engineering firm Team Group and the largest weight in the consortium is split between the two largest Alava Pipeline Companies and Damoin. For Iberdrola, its participation tends to take advantage of the results of the work of applications for its infrastructures. Coordination of works is carried out between the energy and steel clusters of the Basque Country, Basque Energy Cluster and Siderex respectively.
The president of the Association of Energy Companies, José Ignacio Harmech, explained to EL CORREO that it is “creating a system for the comprehensive management of hydrogen storage in salt caves and verifying its techno-economic viability.” The results apply to the warehouse that state operator Enakas is contemplating for the Basque Country, with a capacity of 240 GWh and an allocated budget of 590 million euros.
As confirmed by sources from the Basque Government, locations are currently being studied in several salt vents provided by the Basque orography. They are highly porous rock formations and have “optimal quality” conditions in the Cantabrian-Basque basin, one of the areas in the peninsula with the best geological settings for this purpose.
However, these Basque companies seek to develop the technology needed by the Basque region, but which can also be used in others that are created to store this energy source, which, among its virtues, has capacity. Store renewable generation surplus.
Uncertainties
The warehouse is one of two in Spain in the European Green Hydrogen Corridor project. It would cost an estimated 4,670 million to ship renewable energy-generated gas between the peninsula and Europe. It also includes an undersea hydroduct at an investment of Rs 2,135 million. The deadline for work first goes through priority authorization from Brussels, which won’t be until the end of the year, so it won’t start before 2025.
Green hydrogen continues to present many unknowns about its industrial exploitation, its production cost, or its storage and transportation. But in any case, decarbonizing heavy industry and removing natural gas from energy is a major European commitment.
