Mauritania Gets 'Green Hydrogen' Project

FILE - Showing an example of the purpose of "green hydrogen," Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest poses in front of a taxi promoting green hydrogen clean energy alternatives, in London, Oct. 25, 2021.

German project developer Conjuncta on Wednesday said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Mauritania, involving Egypt's energy provider Infinity and the United Arab Emirates' Masdar, for a $34 billion green hydrogen project in the West African country.

The Mauritania project will have a production capacity of up to 8 million tons of green hydrogen or other hydrogen-based end products annually, with an electrolyzer capacity of up to 10 gigawatts, the company said in a joint statement with the firms involved and the Mauritanian government.

The first phase of the Mauritania project, to be located northeast of the coastal capital of Nouakchott, should be completed in 2028 with planned capacity of 400 megawatts, it said.

"(This project) will have a strong link to Germany both as a technology provider and a potential off-taker of green energy," Conjuncta Chief Executive Stefan Liebing said.

Germany has been scrambling to ramp up its renewables capacity to compensate for Russian fuel imports and meet climate targets. In December, Berlin approved the construction of the country's first hydrogen pipeline network.

The German government and the economy ministry were not immediately available for comment on the agreement.