  The search for the neutrinoless double beta decay (0$\nu\beta\beta$) is one
of the most important quests nowadays in neutrino physics. Among the different
techniques used, high pressure xenon (HPXe) gas time projection chambers (TPC)
stand out because they allow to image the topology of the 0$\nu\beta\beta$
event (one straggling track ending in two blobs), and use it to discriminate
signal from background events. Recent results with microbulk Micromegas in Xe +
trimethylamine (TMA) mixtures show high promise in terms of gain, stability of
operation, and energy resolution at high pressures (up to 10 bar). The addition
of TMA at levels of ~1\% reduces electron diffusion in up to a factor of 10
with respect pure Xe, improving the quality of the topological pattern, and
therefore the discrimination capability. Moreover microbulk Micromegas have
very low levels of intrinsic radioactivity. All these results show that a
Micromegas-read High Pressure Xenon TPC (HPXe-TPC) can be a competitive
technique in the search for 0$\nu\beta\beta$. The recently proposed PandaX-III
experiment, based on these results, aims at building a large TPC of 200 kg of
enriched Xe, to be located at Jinping Underground laboratory in China. In this
talk the main features of the experiment will be presented, with an emphasis on
the design and tests of the microbulk readout, as well as the status of the
project and first results of the prototyping phase.
