TotalEnergies + Verbund eye green hydrogen production in Tunisia

More green hydrogen exports in play for Tunisia? TE H2 — a JV between French energy giant TotalEnergies and Luxembourg’s EREN Groupe — and Austrian utilities company Verbund have signed an agreement with Tunisia to study the production of 200k tons of green hydrogen for export annually, according to a press release. The project — dubbed the H2 Notos project — will have the potential to boost production to 1 mn tons per year in South Tunisia in its initial phase.

Here’s what we know so far: The hydrogen will be exported to Central Europe via the SoutH2 Corridor pipeline which connects North Africa to Italy, Austria, and Germany, the statement notes, adding that it is expected to be operational by 2030. TE H2 and Verbund will oversee the development, financing, construction, and operation of the project, with Verbund coordinating the transport of hydrogen to Europe.

Much funding needed: The project would need “bns of USD” in investments for the initial phase, which will have a 3 GW capacity, Bloomberg writes, citing comments made by TE H2 CEO David Corchia. He urged Europe to finance and subsidize investments that enhance energy security. A final investment decision is expected by 2027 at the earliest.

Not Verbund’s first rodeo in the region: The UAE’s Masdar and Verbund Green Hydrogen GmbH signed an agreement to jointly explore the feasibility of establishing a green hydrogen plant in Spain last December. The green hydrogen produced will be used to decarbonize Spain or Europe’s hard-to-abate sectors including steel, fertilizers, chemicals, heavy transportation, and aviation.

About the SoutH2 Corridor: Europe’s transmission operators each submitted a Project of Common Interest application to the European Commission for the corridor project, which aims to “supply competitive renewable hydrogen to European demand clusters,” its website writes. The proposal includes utilizing more than 70% repurposed infrastructure, with new pipeline segments only where necessary. The corridor has strong political endorsement and support from companies involved in production and offtake of hydrogen along the whole corridor.

Tunisia is ramping up its interest in green energy exports to the EU: Italy is planning to provide political backing for the Medlink project in a bid to import 28 TW worth of renewable electricity from Tunisia and Algeria to Northern Italy. Italy and Tunisia are also already working on a separate EUR 1 bn electric interconnection project dubbed Elmed which Italy's Environment and Energy Security Ministry recently authorized. The 600 MW subsea interconnector will transport 400-600 MW of clean power generated from hydroelectricity and is targeting an operational launch by 2028.