French energy multinational, TotalEnergies, via its TE H2 joint-venture with EREN Groupe and Austrian electricity company VERBUND has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government of Tunisia to study the implementation of a large-scale green hydrogen project named “H2 Notos” which will produce hydrogen for export to Central Europe through pipelines.
In an announcement this week, the French energy giant outlined plans to produce 200,000 tons of green hydrogen annually during its initial phase of the project, with the potential to scale up production to one million tons per year in the South of Tunisia.
According to TotalEnergies, the H2 Notos project aims to produce green hydrogen using electrolysers powered by large onshore wind and solar projects, using desalinated sea water as a feedstock.
“H2 Notos has the potential to become a significant supplier of green hydrogen for Europe while fostering significant jobs creation in Tunisia,” said David Corchia, CEO of TE H2.
“We are entering into a phase of greenfield development and major technical work to assess the feasibility of the project and we will need to further deepen the highly constructive and fruitful collaboration we have enjoyed with the national and local authorities through H2 Notos,” Corchia added.
Easy access to European markets from Tunisia
The H2 Notos project will have access to the European market through the “SoutH2 Corridor”, a hydrogen pipeline project connecting North Africa to Italy, Austria, and Germany, which is expected to be commissioned around 2030.
Furthermore, TE H2, together with VERBUND, will be leading the development, financing, construction, and operation of the integrated project from production of green electricity to production of green hydrogen. In addition, VERBUND will coordinate the transport of the produced hydrogen towards Central Europe.
“We have set ourselves the goal of supplying the European industry with green hydrogen. By combining competitive hydrogen production in Tunisia and pipeline-based transportation, we can ensure a long-term supply at scale to support a sustainable transition of our customers to green hydrogen as well as support a sustainable economic development in Tunisia,” said Michael Strugl, CEO of VERBUND AG.
“We are delighted to be working with a strong consortium capable of realizing GW-scale projects and look forward to developing them in partnership and close collaboration with the Tunisian authorities and population,” Strugl concluded.
