Ursula von der Leyen – 2022 Speech at the Summit of Southern European Union Countries

Dear Pedro,

Cher Emmanuel,

Dear António,

Let me first of all thank you, Pedro, for welcoming us here today to talk about this very important project. Hydrogen is a game changer for Europe. This is why, already in June 2020, we started with the Hydrogen Strategy. We want to make hydrogen a central part of our energy system in the transition to climate neutrality, to net zero. And we want to maintain our European trailblazer’s position, as we build a global market for hydrogen.

Our Strategy includes ambitious production targets, but not only. What we have set out is a vision for the full-scale industrial deployment of hydrogen. We turned this vision into reality by creating a European Clean Hydrogen Alliance. A real hydrogen ecosystem along the entire value chain. At the core of our efforts lies the crucial issue of transmission and distribution.

In 2020, we identified the need for the major hydrogen corridors to make the hydrogen flow to where it is needed. Then we saw the start of the Russian energy war, with severe knock-on effects on our energy systems and our energy markets. And this made the clean energy transition not only pressing but vital. It is not only good for the climate but also important for our independence and the security of supply. So we needed to accelerate the deployment of renewables and hydrogen. And we introduced REPowerEU. REPowerEU is our plan to speed up the deployment of renewables. And of course, hydrogen will play a major role. What are our goals? We want to produce 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen in the European Union by 2030. And we also plan to import in addition another 10 million tonnes. This hydrogen will have to reach our industry. This is why we also identified a series of strategic corridors that we need to transport the hydrogen. This includes one crossing Europe, from the West to the East, via the Iberian Peninsula.

This is why today, I warmly welcome this agreement between France, Spain and Portugal. Because your H2Med project goes absolutely in the right direction. It has the potential to help us build a real European hydrogen backbone. I welcome your imminent application to make it a project of common interest. This would make it eligible to apply for EU financial support.

Dear Pedro,

Dear António,

Cher Emmanuel,

The Iberian Peninsula is set to become one of Europe’s major energy hubs. And the European Union will be part of this success story. We have always been at your side. We have co-funded the Biscay Gulf interconnector. We have supported the trans-Pyrenean crossings; the electricity interconnector between Spain and Portugal. Today, the Iberian Peninsula is becoming a major European energy gateway to the world. A hydrogen corridor via the Peninsula can also link up with hydrogen supply from the entire Mediterranean region. This is what we are also working on. We are establishing hydrogen partnerships with the Mediterranean countries – we have one with Egypt already, we are now discussing one with Morocco. And we are working on a broader Green Hydrogen Partnership with all Southern Mediterranean countries. So this is only the beginning. But it is a very promising beginning.

Thank you.