Tunisia signs green hydrogen deals to step up production.
Tunisia has signed six agreements with international companies to develop green hydrogen production as it seeks to expand its clean fuel production capacity.
The North African country aims to produce 8.3 million tonnes of green hydrogen and its derivatives by 2050 under its green hydrogen strategy, which was released in October 2023.
Much of the hydrogen produced – 6 million tonnes – will be exported to Europe, while the remainder will serve domestic needs.
It signed memoranda of understanding with companies including Norway’s Aker Horizons, Austria’s Verbund, France’s Amarenco and Hydrogène de France and H2 Global of Jordan, according to Tunis Afrique Presse.
In June Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power signed a deal with the Tunisian government to develop a project that will produce up to 600,000 tonnes per year of green hydrogen for export to Europe.
It plans to develop, operate and maintain infrastructure, including electrolysers, 12GW of renewable energy, a desalination plant, storage systems and transmission lines.
In May French energy major TotalEnergies partnered with Austrian electricity provider Verbund and Eren Groupe TEH2 in a preliminary deal to supply renewable hydrogen from Tunisia to Europe.
The H2 Notos project aims to produce 200,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year in southern Tunisia, with the option to ramp up the output to 1 million tonnes per year. Production is likely to start in 2030.
Tunisia’s economic growth mainly comes from tourism and trade. The country has ambitious plans for renewable energy as a solution to its economic and environmental challenges, according to the World Bank.
In March 2024 the EU, which plans to import around 10 million tonnes of clean hydrogen, handed Tunisia a €150 million ($163 million) grant to support economic reforms and fiscal stability.
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Tunisia signs green hydrogen deals to step up production. source
