Developer of 20-GW green hydrogen project signs deal with Kazakh govt

Plans for a 20-GW green hydrogen project in Kazakhstan have taken a step forward with the signing of an investment agreement between the European project developer and the Kazakh government.

The agreement was signed in Astana on Thursday in the presence of Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.

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The project is being proposed by Hyrasia One, a subsidiary of renewables developer Svevind Energy Group, which is based in Sweden and Germany. It calls for the installation of about 40 GW of wind and photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the steppes of southwest Kazakhstan. The wind and solar parks will power 20 GW of electrolysers on the coast of the Caspian Sea, capable of producing up to two million tonnes of green hydrogen per year. This is equivalent to about 20% of the EU’s expected green hydrogen import needs in 2030, the developer noted.

The total cost of the project is estimated at between USD 40 billion (EUR 39.9bn) and USD 50 billion. The final investment decision is expected in 2026. The production of hydrogen could start as early as 2030 and is expected to reach full capacity by around 2032.

The developer said the investment agreement defines important parameters such as the land to be made available and access to infrastructure, providing it with certainty to press ahead with discussions with co-investors, customers and plant suppliers.

The project has been in development for three years and in the summer of 2022 completed its concept design study.

Commenting on the project’s location, Wolfgang Kropp, managing director of Hyrasia One and founder and chief executive of Svevind Energy Group, said: “The vast steppes have excellent year-round wind conditions and solar irradiance is far more intense than in Central Europe, for example.”

As part of their meeting on Thursday, the president of Kazakhstan and the president of the European Council welcomed an upcoming memorandum of understanding between Kazakhstan and the EU on a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, batteries and renewable hydrogen value chains.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.996)