To the board of REN

The individuals and civil society organizations signing this open letter hereby express their opposition to the CelZa gas pipeline and pose a question to REN:

What will the CelZa pipelines be used for?

As part of the H2Med project, which aims to connect Portugal and Spain to central Europe for the export of green hydrogen, the CelZa pipeline involves the construction of a section between Celorico da Beira and Zamora (the CelZa pipeline) and an additional section between Figueira da Foz and Cantanhede.

But we know that:

a) these pipelines are an old idea that has already been rejected.

• The previous proposal for this pipeline – the MidCat pipeline, which was intended solely for the export of fossil gas – was rejected in the past due to its environmental impact. Now, REN is proposing to build the CelZa pipelines – which, according to the company, will be used to transport hydrogen

b) the proposed routes for the gas pipelines may cross four rivers and ecologically sensitive areas, such as:

• the Alto Douro Wine Region, the Montesinho Natural Park, the Douro river, the Sabor river, the Maçãs river, and the Mondego river

c) these pipelines will be used solely for export.

• According to the project’s promoters, on the project’s website: “This project will play a key role in the export of renewable hydrogen produced in countries with abundant resources, such as Spain and Portugal, to major consumption centres, notably in France and Germany.”

d) the hydrogen targets are unrealistic.

• According to a report by the European Court of Auditors, which states that the targets “were driven by political will rather than being based on sound analysis”. It also notes, in the same section, that “at the time of writing this report, it is unlikely that these 2030 targets will be met” (1)

e) Exporting hydrogen is inefficient,

• as several studies indicate that hydrogen production should take place near the place of consumption (2) (3) (4) and (5)

f) it is technically feasible to blend hydrogen and fossil gas,

• therefore, the CelZa gas pipelines could be used as yet another infrastructure for fossil gas

Given all this, we also know that the climate crisis is already having real impacts and claiming victims worldwide. As such, we have an obligation not to build new fossil fuel infrastructure, such as new pipelines, if we want to limit global warming to around 1.5°C. (6) and (7)

We conclude that CelZa makes no contribution to Portugal’s decarbonization. On the contrary, this project poses risks both in terms of the destruction of habitats and protected areas and in terms of exacerbating the climate crisis by perpetuating the use of fossil gas.

For all these reasons, we hereby express our opposition to the CelZa pipelines and demand that REN explain:

If they will not be used for hydrogen—due to insufficient production in Portugal—and if they cannot be used for natural gas —because we need to ensure an end to our dependence on fossil fuels—then what will the two pipelines be used for?

1 – https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/SR-2024-11/SR-2024-11_ES.pdf

2 – comissão europeia, “Energy efficiency of water electrolysers for hydrogen production”

3 – https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2025

4 – https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/gasturbinespower/article-abstract/143/12/121020/1115529/Techno-Economic-Analysis-of-a-Hydrogen-Production?redirectedFrom=fulltext

5 – https://bellona.org/news/eu/2022-01-leaked-taxonomy-proposal-fossil-gas-sustainable-label-relies-on-promises-in-bad-faith-still-risks-wasting-all-our-renewable-energy

6 – https://www.iisd.org/articles/press-release/no-new-fossil-fuel-projects-needed-transition-net-zero

7 – https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-roadmap-a-global-pathway-to-keep-the-15-c-goal-in-reach/a-renewed-pathway-to-net-zero-emissions

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