French energy firm Hydrogène de France (HDF Energy) has inked an agreement with the Tunisian government to launch a “large-scale” green hydrogen project in Tunisia, Kallanish reports.

Under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the Tunisian ministry of industry, energy and mines, HDF plans to develop a project capable of producing up to 65,000 tonnes of green hydrogen. It will use 800 megawatts of electrolysers powered by up to 1 gigawatts of wind energy and 500 MW of solar energy, the company says.

The project, with an initial investment of around €3 billion ($3.2 billion), will primarily produce green hydrogen for export to Europe. The export is anticipated through the planned SoutH2 corridor, a 3,300-kilometre-long hydrogen pipeline connecting North Africa, Italy, Austria and Germany.

The signing of the agreement “solidifies” the company’s position as a “leading global expert” in green hydrogen, says Gilles Bouder, HDF Energy’s vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

“Our goal is not merely to execute a project in Tunisia but to establish a genuinely Tunisian project, by relying on local competencies and expertise,” the executive adds. “This project will empower Tunisia to produce some of the most competitively priced green hydrogen globally.”

The MOU with HDF is one among the six agreements the Tunisian government signed this week with European companies for the production of green hydrogen in the North African country. The companies involved in six different projects include Austrian utility Verbund AG, UK-based Savannah Energy, Belgium’s DEME Hyport, German renewables developer ABO Energy, and Zurich-based renewables developer H2 Global Energy.

“Through the signing of these six agreements, Tunisia aims to implement the national strategy for green hydrogen and its derivatives by 2050, by attracting investments exploiting available national resources as well as existing industrial and energy infrastructure,” the ministry says in a statement.

Tunisia aims to produce 8.3 million tonnes of green hydrogen and its derivatives by 2050, with an estimated total investment of around €120 billion. Of this, 2.3mt of green hydrogen is intended for the local market, whilst the remaining 6mt will be exported.