The Saudi company Acwa Power has concluded an agreement with the Tunisian authorities to develop and produce green hydrogen in the country. This energy will be intended for the European market.
After Egypt, Mauritania, and Morocco, it is Tunisia’s turn to receive investment promises from large energy companies. The latest to have agreed with the Tunisian government is Acwa Power. The Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based company plans to develop a three-stage project for 12 GW of renewable energy production capacity.
The first phase involves the installation of 4 GW of electricity for an electrolysis capacity of 2 GW. This infrastructure, including the battery storage and seawater desalination system for electrolysis, will be capable of producing 200,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year. The Tunisian government includes this new project as part of its National Green Hydrogen Strategy published in October 2023.
Contribution to the National Strategy
For Ouael Chouchene, Tunisian Secretary of State for Energy Transition, the agreement with Acwa Power “will make it possible to take advantage of Tunisia’s assets, in particular its strategic geographical location, its existing infrastructure, and its qualified workforce, to create a more sustainable future for the country. ” The Saudi company expects a combined hydrogen production capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year.
This hydrogen will be transported to Europe via the “SoutH2 Corridor”, a 3,300 km pipeline expected to connect North Africa, Italy, Austria, and Germany by 2030. Supported by the Commission European, this energy infrastructure will be capable of transporting 2.5 million tonnes of hydrogen per year passing under the Mediterranean.
Acwa démarre son projet tunisien quelques jours seulement après la signature d’un accord entre le gouvernement tunisien, la coentreprise TE H2 (TotalEnergies et le groupe Eren) et l’énergéticien autrichien Verbund. Ce consortium développera un projet visant une capacité de production initiale de 200 000 tonnes d’hydrogène par an, extensible à 1 million de tonnes par an, destinées à l’Europe. Pour mémoire, la Stratégie nationale de l’hydrogène vert de la Tunisie vise une production annuelle de 8,3 millions de tonnes d’hydrogène vert et de sous-produits d’ici à 2050.
