ACWA Power to explore huge hydrogen project in Tunisia

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Co (TADAWUL:2082) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tunisian government to study the potential for a large-scale project to export green hydrogen to Europe, according to an announcement on Friday.

The three-phase project would see ACWA Power develop and operate 12 GW of renewable energy generation, including storage systems and transmission lines, as well as water desalination plants, electrolysers and infrastructures to connect to the main pipeline.

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The initial phase will have 2 GW of electrolyser capacity and 4 GW of renewable energy units, and will be able to produce 200,000 tonnes per year of green hydrogen to be exported through the South2 Corridor hydrogen pipeline project, which is intended to connect Tunisia with Italy, Austria and Germany.

“This project aligns perfectly with the Tunisian Government's national green hydrogen strategy released in October 2023, which targets an annual production of 8.3 million tons of green hydrogen and byproducts by 2050,” said Ouael Chouchene, Secretary of State for Energy Transition.

The MoU was signed by Tunisia’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, Fatma Thabet Chiboub, and ACWA Power chief executive Marco Arcelli. It is in line with ACWA Power’s ambition to grow its green hydrogen portfolio. Construction is ongoing at the Neom Green Hydrogen Project, a joint venture between ACWA Power, Air Products and Neom. ACWA Power is also working on a second green hydrogen project in Uzbekistan.

Tunisia's government signed a similar agreement earlier last week with a joint venture between TotalEnergies (EPA:TTE) and EREN Groupe, together with Austria's Verbund (VIE:VER).