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Speech by President von der Leyen at the roundtable meeting on green hydrogen

green hydrogen rountable

Speech by President von der Leyen at the roundtable meeting on green hydrogen.

Thank you very much, Mr President, for inviting us here. The last time the three of us met was at the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, three months ago. Now, we are putting our words into action. So thank you for welcoming us here. We have gathered a very impressive group around the table. We have the European businesses in energy, electrolysers and steel but also the European Investment Bank. And the fact that the three of us and the whole government are here shows the importance of today’s event. We have come together with one shared purpose. We want to build a green hydrogen ecosystem right here in Mauritania.

Indispensable for such an endeavour, such a task, is predictability. Mr President, you launched in 2020 the national energy transition strategy. It is a coincidence, but exactly at the same time, at the beginning of 2020, we launched the European Green Deal. The European Green Deal is our ambitious strategy to be climate neutral by 2050 while growing our clean and circular economy. One part in this economy is green hydrogen. So to give you two figures: In the European Union, we want to produce 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, but we also know that we have to import another 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. So we have to work very hard domestically, but we also need partners abroad. And to facilitate this shared ambition outside Europe, we created the investment plan that you are very familiar with, which is Global Gateway. Global Gateway will mobilise up to EUR 300 billion worldwide for sustainable and high-quality projects in partner countries. And here, Mauritania comes into play.

As you have said, Mauritania is blessed with resources, that is space, sun and wind. With the right investment and infrastructure, this country can harness over 350 gigawatts of renewable energy only from wind and sun. But that is not all. Mauritania is also Africa’s second largest iron producer. The majority of your iron is exported as raw ore. But if we have clean energy coming into the game, the processing into green steel could stay here in Mauritania. And that is a huge step because this is the added value. This is where the jobs are. This is where the prosperity is. In fact, you could export iron and premium green steel. The technology works but, as I said, the production of green steel needs an essential input and that is green hydrogen. And that is why hydrogen is so important for Mauritania but also for Europe, so we share the interests. It would be a source of revenue domestically and an export product, for example to the European Union.

Our Team Europe initiative – that is Spain, France, Germany, the European Union and the European Investment Bank – we are all here to support. I would like to thank you all. I would want to thank very much the European companies that are present here and represented by Hydrogen Europe – we know each other very well. Europe is stepping in with Global Gateway. And we are in it for the long term, that is important. Because demand for Mauritania’s green hydrogen and potentially green steel will set to grow exponentially in the European Single Market. We already know the demands that are out there, so if you step into that business field, we know that this is an excellent business case.

And with that, it is important that the European Union, Team Europe, supports in building the infrastructure, to train the local workforce. I think this is what the companies are looking and what they are waiting for. That will create local jobs, but also establish the legal framework, so a conducive framework for the private sector to do what you know best and develop the project. And we can support on training the workforce, creating a conducive environment and of course building the infrastructure.

I am very glad that we can be here today. It is a win-win-win situation. And we should join forces because the project is fascinating.

Many thanks.

READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central

Speech by President von der Leyen at the roundtable meeting on green hydrogen. source

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