Algeria’s green hydrogen roadmap has been revealed

Algeria is aiming to become a global hub for green hydrogen by 2050 by implementing three phases of a national strategy to boost production and competitiveness, Algerian news outlet Echorouk reports, citing a copy of the national strategy for hydrogen document it has seen. The three main phases include a “pilot” phase from 2023 to 2030, a “market creation” phase from 2030 to 2040, and a “competitive phase” from 2040 to 2050.

The breakdown: Algeria’s strategy for developing hydrogen is based on six main axes: establishing an appropriate regulatory, standard and institutional framework to govern all activities related to the production, storage, transport and use of hydrogen; developing human capital; implementing measures to ensure industrial integration; creating suitable financing mechanisms and incentives; developing international cooperation for technology transfer and technical assistance, and finally, democratizing the hydrogen sector, Echorouk writes.

Eyes on Europe: The country plans to produce and export 30 to 40 TWh of green hydrogen as gas, liquid, or other forms to meet about 10% of Europe's demand by 2040. The document also highlights that Algeria could earn USD 10 bn a year if it offers a competitive price for its green hydrogen sales. Aside from the green hydrogen marked for export, the country will also produce around 10 TWh of blue hydrogen for domestic use.

How are they getting there? The first phase of the strategy will see the launch of pilot electrolysis plants with the capacity to produce 2 to 50 MW of hydrogen. These projects will allow Algeria to test different technologies and business models for producing and using hydrogen and its derivatives. The next stage will see Algeria connect its hydrogen plants with renewables projects to allow it to produce about 1 mn tons of green hydrogen by 2040, 70% of which will be powered by solar energy with the rest sourced from wind.

Lots of gains for Algeria ahead: The strategy indicates that the partial, medium and long-term substitution of natural gas by hydrogen in gas turbines will allow the country to save between USD 2.7-3.5 bn annually, while the quantities of natural gas that will be saved will be between 2.5-6.3 bn cbm per year. The document indicated that the hydrogen projects planned during the period from 2035 to 2040 will allow Algeria to save between 16.4-38.2 bn cbm of natural gas, equivalent to USD 9.1-21.2 bn.