Algeria’s state-owned oil company Sonatrach has stepped up plans for large-scale green hydrogen production and a vast pipeline to Europe that is expected to repurpose gas pipelines.
The 3300 kilometre SoutH2 corridor pipeline network planned to carry green hydrogen from North Africa to Europe is expected to be fully operational by 2030.
The developers expect 70% of SoutH2 to consist of repurposed gas pipelines, with the network capable of carying up to 4 million tonnes per annum of hydrogen, or 40% of the European Union’s target of 10 million tpa.
Sonatrach and Algerian state utiliy Sonelgaz signed a memorandum of understanding to begin feasibility studies on the hydrogen production and the pipeline project with a consortium of German, Italian and Austrian companies.
The European players that signed the agreement include Italian gas grid operator Snam, SeaCorridor (Snam’s joint venture with Italian major Eni), Germany’s VNG, and Austrian electricity company Verbund.
VNG also signed a letter of intent to import green hydrogen into Germany from Algeria, via the SoutH2 corridor.
Algeria is already a major supplier of natural gas to southern Europe via the Medgaz pipeline to Spain and the Transmed pipeline to Italy.
The North African country also aims to supply 10% of Europe’s hydrogen demand by 2040, producing both blue hydrogen from natural gas and green hydrogen from renewables-powered electrolysis.
At the beginning of this year, the German government pledged to provide Algeria with €20 million ($21.5 million) in funding for Sonatrach to build a 50 megawatt green hydrogen pilot plant in the city of Arzew.
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