Summary:
- Mauritania has signed two large-scale green hydrogen projects.
- Green hydrogen is a clean energy that is made by electrolyzing water with electricity from a renewable source, like wind or solar power. It can also be used as fuel to move things, especially on water.
- The company says that by 2030, green hydrogen will cost less than $2 per kilogram compared to $3–6 now.
- This is appealing to the mining and oil industries, which want to go green.
- The Aman project will be “the largest renewable energy project in the world.”
This year, Mauritania not only joined the small group of countries with significant hydrocarbon and mineral reserves but also boosted the development of renewable energy, making it a player in the world of the energy transition. So, it can be inferred now that Mauritania is becoming a Green Hydrogen hub.
The country has signed two large-scale green hydrogen projects in the past few months. Green hydrogen is a clean energy that is made by electrolyzing water with electricity from a renewable source, like wind or solar power. This makes it possible to eliminate carbon emissions from industries like refining, producing chemicals, and making steel.
It can also be used as fuel to move things, especially on water. Goldman Sachs predicted in 2020 that the green hydrogen market would be worth $1 trillion in 30 years.
Focus on Africa
At the beginning of September, the Nour project was joined by Total Eren, a subsidiary of the French oil company Total Energies with sales of €550 million in 2021, and Chariot, a British junior company with a focus on Africa.
This wasn’t a surprise to people who have been paying attention for a while since the two companies have been making deals for years to work together on wind and solar projects for mining clients in Africa.
Since February 2018, the two companies have been working together to provide solar photovoltaic energy to the Tharisa mine in South Africa and, since March, to the Canadian First Quantum Minerals copper mines in Zambia. They have also been working together since 2018 to provide solar photovoltaic energy to the IAMGold Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso.
Chariot, which is led by the South African mining magnate of Cypriot descent Adonis Pouroulis and has operations in two offshore gas fields in Morocco and Namibia, is already familiar with the terrain in Mauritanian because its parent company, Pella Resources, is involved in several golds and iron ore mining projects.
The world’s cheapest energy source
Nour will be built near Nouadhibou, where it can take full advantage of the desert’s wind and sun. It will have a capacity of 10 GW and cost $3.5 billion to build.
Chariot says that it will make “the least expensive energy in the world.” By 2030, green hydrogen is expected to cost less than $2 per kilogram, compared to $3–6 per kilogram today. This is especially appealing to the mining and oil industries, which want to go green, lower the energy costs of their oil and diesel operations that aren’t connected to the grid, and earn carbon credits. Because of this, green hydrogen is an essential tool for Mauritania’s extractive industries to grow in a clean way.
Sales in Europe
But because of the war in Ukraine, there is a lot of tension in the European energy market right now. There are threats of winter cuts and restrictions, rising costs, closing some supplies, and sabotage of gas pipelines. Mauritania can take advantage of its close proximity to Europe to sell its goods there.
Chariot has already made a deal with the Port of Rotterdam that could make it possible to sell 600,000 tonnes of green hydrogen every year. Rotterdam also said that by 2026, a terminal would be built that will only handle this new resource and its products. This will help the city keep up with this new kind of traffic growth. This is happening at a time when Europe wants to use four times as much green hydrogen by 2035, bringing in half of that amount.
There are big plans in the works
With all of this potential and Nouakchott’s natural advantages, big players around the world have been quick to take a stand. After almost six months of talks, the government and the Australian energy company CWP Global signed a deal for an even bigger project in the Dakhlet Nouadhibou and Inchiri regions at the end of May. CWP Global has more than 100 GW of projects in development and 1.5 GW of projects running around the world.
The Aman project, which will cost $40 billion and have a total capacity of 30 GW from 18 GW of solar power and 12 GW of wind power, will be “the largest renewable energy project in the world,” according to the people who are putting it together.
CWP Global says it should increase Mauritania’s GDP by 40–50% by 2030 and 50–60% by 2035. But the Australian company also promises other essential benefits for the country. In addition to making all homes and businesses electric, it should cut unemployment by a third in the country within 15 years. The introduction of hydrogen-powered vehicles will help the country grow cleaner.
So, green hydrogen could be an extra draw for new investors in Mauritania’s extractive industries who care about the environment.
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