GRTgaz, France’s primary gas transmission system operator, which is committed to the energy transition, welcomes the approval granted by the European Parliament and the European Council of the list of “Projects in the Common Interest” that was published by the European Commission on 28 November 2023.

The five H₂ transmission projects spearheaded by GRTgaz (HY-FEN, MosaHYc, RHYn, DHUNE and WHHYN), as well as the BarMar project that is part of H2Med, have been officially given PCI status. Furthermore, four other projects to do with CO₂ transmission in which GRTgaz is involved have also been awarded certification. Such projects being certified this way paves the way for potential funding from the connecting Europe facility (CEF) fund to finance their implementation.

GRTgaz is developing a European H₂ transport network, connecting up France, Belgium, Germany and Spain. On Thursday 28 March 2024, these strategic projects were officially awarded the “Projects in the Common Interest” label, in recognition of their role in helping the EU to achieve its climate targets. This PCI label will provide them with access to CEF funding, which will help these projects to advance.

• The MosaHYc and RHYn projects: The projects foreshadow the Franco-German H₂ transmission corridor. MosaHYc will be the first cross-border H₂ By converting the old gas pipeline system between the Moselle and Saarland regions, GRTgaz and its partners are planning to bring it into service in 2027. The RHYn project in the Upper Rhine region will help decarbonize industry across Alsace, Baden-Württemberg and the Basel region.
• The Franco-Belgian corridor: The corridor will incorporate the WHHYN (Wallonie Hainaut H₂ network) et DHUNE (Dunkirk H₂ Universal Network) projects and will play a crucial role in connecting the North Sea, Dunkirk, Belgium and H₂ basins across the Paris region and France's Greater Eastern region.
• DHUNE: The project will help decarbonize the Dunkirk industrial zone and is set to be extended towards Belgium. WHHYN has its roots in a highly industrialized cross-border area and will be expanded towards the Paris region and the Franco-German H₂
• HY-FEN is a North-South H₂ connection project: The project between Marseille and Obergailbach on the German border. It will connect up the H₂ production potential located in the Iberian Peninsula up to the primary consumption and storage basins in France and Germany, integrating strategic storage sites along the length of its route.
• BarMar: The project is a Franco-Spanish project that will involve the creation of a subsea pipeline system between Barcelona and Marseille. This pipeline will be able to carry 2 MMtpy of H₂ and will connect the Iberian Peninsula to the central European network.

Concurrently, GRTgaz is pursuing its development initiatives in the main industrial basins (notably the St Nazaire estuary and the Mediterranean region) to develop a French H₂ transport network by 2050, fully integrated into a European market.

GRTgaz is involved in decarbonization projects which will involve the deployment of CO₂ transport infrastructure. Indeed, carbon capture, utilization and storage requires a high-performance transport network to carry extremely large quantities of CO₂ from where it is emitted to where it is used or geologically stored.

Four projects in which GRTgaz is a partner have been officially recognized as “Projects in the Common Interest” in the Dunkirk-Seine Valley, Saint Nazaire and Fos-sur-Mer regions, where there are high levels of industrial emissions.