Germany to import green hydrogen from Algeria under Sonatrach, VNG pact

German gas supplier VNG AG and Algeria's state-owned energy company Sonatrach have joined forces to work on a green hydrogen value chain that will enable the import of the clean fuel from the North African country to Germany.

The two companies signed a declaration of intent at the 4th German-Algerian Energy Day in the capital Algiers on Tuesday, they said in a statement. The goal is to jointly consider the possibilities for long-term projects that will facilitate green hydrogen import from Algeria to Germany.

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Initially, the partners will work together on scientific and technical issues related to the green hydrogen value chain such as infrastructure and the potential of joint commercial projects.

The partnership lays the foundation for the ramp-up of the German-Algerian hydrogen economy, according to VNG's executive Hans-Joachim Polk. Germany will need to import large volumes of green hydrogen in order to meet domestic demand and imports from Algeria could play an important role in the future as the potential for this is huge, Hans-Joachim Polk says.

Sonatrach is part of Algeria's national hydrogen roadmap under which pilot projects should be launched by 2030. The international connection between Algeria and Europe, which can be used for the transport of green hydrogen, as well as Algeria's solar potential, allows Sonatrach to pursue a long-term strategy for green hydrogen projects at competitive costs, Sonatrach's executive Fethi Arabi explained.

The existing gas infrastructure is expected to play an important role in the hydrogen ramp-up in the future, according to Polk. In Germany, VNG operates both gas pipelines and storage facilities through its subsidiaries Ontras Gastransport GmbH and VNG Gasspeicher GmbH. Ontras is already involved in projects for the creation of a network for green hydrogen transport in Germany.