The North African country of Tunisia has announced ambitious targets to become a major exporter of green hydrogen, particularly to the European market, utilising its strategic geographical location and ample renewable energy resources.
The country’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy Transition recently revealed that the country is targeting to export 6 million tonnes of green hydrogen to Europe by 2050.
According to the Director-General of Tunisia’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy Transition, Belhassen Chiboub, the planned export quantity would represent Tunisia’s share in Europe’s planned 11 million tonnes of green hydrogen imports from the region.
“Tunisia has the necessary assets to produce green hydrogen at competitive costs in the short and medium run and become Europe’s supplier. Tunisia has ‘excellent’ and ‘complementary’ renewable energies, including solar and wind power. It is also located near Europe where demand is high,” Chiboub highlighted.
Positioning Tunisia for green hydrogen exports to Europe
Tunisia is currently working on a national roadmap on green hydrogen, which will present Tunisia’s strategic guidelines in this field. The North African country, in partnership with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) last year launched the H2Vert.TUN project, which seeks to improve the framework conditions to develop a value chain based on renewable energy for green hydrogen and its derived products.
Additionally, Tunisia is planning to set up a network to transport green hydrogen from Gabès and Tataouine to the Cap-Bon region. According to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy Transition, the infrastructure will be built in such a way as to contribute to exporting green hydrogen to Europe.
Furthermore, to address the shortage of water in Tunisia, a main source for the production of green hydrogen, the state intends to set up desalination plants in the south and the midland, mainly in Mahdia and Gabès.
“Today, we target desalination plants with a production capacity of 200,000 m3 of water/day so as to meet national needs in drinking water. A desalination plant with a capacity of 200 m3/day produces 8 million tonnes of hydrogen/ year,” the Director-General of Tunisia’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy Transition, Belhassen Chiboub said.
Europe’s increasing focus on decarbonisation, coupled with its rising demand for clean energy solutions, creates a vast market opportunity for Tunisia’s green hydrogen exports. European countries, committed to reducing their carbon emissions and achieving climate targets, are actively seeking reliable and sustainable sources of hydrogen. Tunisia’s ambitious goal of exporting over 6 million tonnes of green hydrogen to Europe by 2050 aligns with Europe’s decarbonisation plans.
