TotalEnergies, Verbund sign preliminary deal on Tunisian hydrogen supply to Europe

VERBUND AG

28/05/2024 09:00

By America Hernandez
       PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - Austrian electricity provider
Verbund and French energy major TotalEnergies' joint venture
with Eren Groupe TE H2 have signed a preliminary deal with the
Republic of Tunisia for a renewable hydrogen project to supply
Europe, they said on Tuesday.
     
    BY THE NUMBERS
    The multi-billion-dollar project, H2 Notos, aims to produce
200,000 metric tons of hydrogen a year using desalinated water
from the Mediterranean and electricity from wind and solar farms
in southern Tunisia. A ramp-up to 1 million tons per year is
possible. 
    The hydrogen would be transported to Europe through a 3,300
km (2,050 mile) pipeline connecting Tunisia to Italy and
continuing onto Austria and Germany, which is being planned by
companies including Snam  SRG.MI .
    Production could begin as early as 2030, with Verbund taking
some of the hydrogen and transporting it throughout Central
Europe.
     
    WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
    The European Union aims to produce 10 million tons and
import 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen by 2030 in a bid to
replace hydrocarbons, which emit planet-warming gases when
burned.
    European industrials are already signing hydrogen supply
deals and investing to upgrade equipment to run on the green
fuel, which emits water when combusted.
     
    KEY QUOTES
    "What is notable about this project is its ability to
transport low-cost hydrogen directly to Europe via pipeline,"
TEH2 CEO David Corchia said in a media call.
    "Pipeline transport adds about 1 euro ($1.09) per kilo to
the cost, compared with 3.5 to 4 euros per kilo when you
transform hydrogen to ammonia, ship it on a boat, and re-crack
it back into hydrogen." 
    "The Americans are moving but haven't cracked that problem
better than we have. They are still transforming it and putting
on boats, it's just that they are heavily subsidized," Corchia
added.
     
    WHAT'S NEXT
    A final investment decision is expected in 2027 or 2028.
     
    ($1 = 0.9195 euros)

 (Reporting by America Hernandez in Paris; Editing by Jan
Harvey)
 ((america.hernandez@thomsonreuters.com; +33623014155))