Mauritania’s large green hydrogen project in new milestones

The government of Mauritania and Chariot, the Africa-focused transitional energy group, say that the pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the large green hydrogen project Project Nour in Mauritania has been completed and a framework agreement has been signed.

In September 2021, Chariot and the government of Mauritania signed an MoU to progress the project of potential green hydrogen development of up to ten gigawatts.

Project Nour is to spread over an onshore and offshore area of about 14,400 square kilometres producing power from solar and wind resources for electrolysis to produce green hydrogen.

According to Chariot, the new development confirms Mauritania’s potential as a world-class green hydrogen producer and exporter. In other words, PFS confirms the country is well-placed for green hydrogen production due to its solar and wind resources. The country will also benefits from its proximity to large European markets.

Therefore, the project has the potential to produce some of the cheapest green hydrogen in the world.

With up to ten gigawatts of electrolysis installed, Project Nour could become one of the largest green hydrogen projects globally by 2030.

Chariot recently signed a partnership agreement with the Port of Rotterdam for sales of green hydrogen and its derivative products into Europe.

Moreover, in-country value creation is designed to be core to Project Nour and across the value chain.

The framework agreement defines the terms and guiding principles to pave the way for the in-depth feasibility study that will be undertaken over the next 24 months .

Chariot also informed that a partnering process is underway with the objective to form a world-class consortium.

Minister Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh said: “We are very pleased that the PFS has confirmed the world-class potential of Project Nour, both in its unique capacity to generate green hydrogen and for the broader development opportunities that it could bring to Mauritania. It is exciting to be looking to harness our natural resources in this way and Chariot has our full support as they progress this through the detailed feasibility studies.”

Adonis Pouroulis, Acting CEO of Chariot, said: “Green hydrogen is a strategic priority for Chariot and will form a substantial part of the global energy transition going forward. We also believe that progressing this project will result in significant investment in Mauritania and benefit the region as a whole.  The results of the PFS h ave underlined our belief in the economics and scale of this asset.  Project Nour has the potential to be one of the key sources of green energy of the future with the opportunity to deliver a wide range of positive impacts and we are delighted to be partnering with the Government to help realise its ambition to become a world leader in the production and export of this valuable resource.”