IDOM and Técnicas Reunidas, selected by Enagás to design the future Spanish hydrogen backbone.
IDOM, Heymo (the engineering subsidiary of Técnicas Reunidas), Boslan and Ayesa are the four companies that Enagás has entrusted with the engineering design to kick off the development of the Spanish hydrogen backbone. These companies will be responsible for shaping the first axes of the national hydrogen network, a project that involves laying around 2,600 kilometres of new or reconverted underground pipelines.
More than 80% of the new network will run along the route of existing gas infrastructure, while the remaining 20% will need to be designed from scratch. The construction will take advantage of existing infrastructure corridors, thereby avoiding any impact on natural and protected areas and watercourses, as well as urban centres and densely populated areas.
Preliminary studies for the project envisage around 110 newly constructed valve positions, to be located at intervals of around 20 to 30 km along the pipeline route. They will be equipped with remote control and activation systems, and will be continuously monitored to ensure safe operation. These preliminary studies estimate that three compression stations will be required, to be built in Coreses (Zamora), Tivissa (Tarragona) and Villar de Arnedo (La Rioja). The design and engineering work for these stations has been awarded to Técnicas Reunidas and Intecsa. Enagás has also preselected suppliers of pipes and compressors and has strengthened its own engineering team to carry out the work.
In a statement issued by Enagás itself, these latest developments effectively mean that, having been awarded the full amount of EU funding requested from the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), the company is ‘on track with the development of the Spanish hydrogen backbone and the H2med corridor’. This is effectively an injection of 40.2 million euros for the Spanish network, including associated storage, to which will be added a further 35.5 million euros for the planned H2med connections with France (Barcelona-Marseille) and Portugal (Celorico da Beira-Zamora).
In November, Enagás submitted four new sections of the backbone to the second call for European Projects of Common Interest (PCI). The roll-out of these new sections, which includes an additional 1,480 kilometres of pipeline and is scheduled to begin in 2030, will enable all of Spain's autonomous communities to be connected to the hydrogen network.
Source: La Vanguardia
