Mauritania and Germany have discussed the idea of establishing a new company specializing in renewable energy and green hydrogen, which is scheduled to be hosted by Nouakchott.

In light of this, the Minister of Petroleum, Mines and Energy of Mauritania, Dr. El-Nani Ould Achrouka, met on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, with the delegation accompanying him, the German Government Commissioner for Green Hydrogen at the Federal Ministry of Education and Global Research, Til Mannesmann.

The meeting was held in Berlin as part of the Energy Transition Conference, which the German government is working to supervise. The Minister of Petroleum, Mines and Energy offered an opportunity for cooperation with companies in Germany, especially in the fields of education and energy. This came during the meeting, which was attended by Mauritania’s ambassador accredited to Germany.

The cooperation between the two countries came to develop training and improve expertise in Mauritania in the field of green hydrogen and renewable energy in general. The results of the meeting that was held between the two countries included several items, the first of which was the agreement to support and enhance the capabilities of both the Polytechnic Higher School and the University of Nouakchott, in addition to submitting an application for scholarships. For students in Mauritania and academic exchange, which is carefully planned by the German government.

The third item focuses on launching a pilot project on the ground in order to benefit from the ongoing work of hydrogen operators. With the aim of strengthening the confidence of the German government regarding the obligations of the Mauritanian government, the two parties plan to establish a subsidiary company specializing in renewable energy and green hydrogen in Mauritania, and Mauritania is working to advance the green hydrogen industry. The Noor Green Hydrogen Project is about to come to fruition, becoming one of the largest projects of its kind in the world.

A British company, Chariot, announced during March 2024 the completion of a feasibility study for the project with a capacity of 10 megawatts. The British company is working on developing the Noor Green Hydrogen Project through its company, which is affiliated with the Chariot Green Hydrogen Company, and this comes in partnership with the TEH2 company owned by Total Energy and the French Eren Group, by 50%, come with support from the Mauritanian Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy. The British company intends to develop the first phase with a capacity of 3 gigawatts in order to provide 1.6 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity to produce 150 kilotons of green hydrogen every year.

The produced hydrogen is expected to be used to produce green steel and export green ammonia. The Nour Hydrogen Project is geographically located close to the deep-sea port of Nouadhibou and large European markets, which makes it a suitable option for export, as it pushes Mauritania to lead Mauritania to the forefront of major producers and exporters of green hydrogen in the world.