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Saudi utility developer and investor Acwa Power has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tunisian government, represented by the Industry, Mines & Energy Ministry, to explore the potential for a project that would produce up to 600,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of green hydrogen in three phases.

The planned scheme has nearly three times the capacity of the Neom green hydrogen project, Acwa Power's first foray into large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production in partnership with US firm Air Products and Neom.

The green hydrogen produced in Tunisia will be exported to Europe, Acwa Power said in a statement.

Fatma Thabet Chiboub, Tunisia's industry, mines and energy minister, and Marco Arcelli, Acwa Power's chief executive, signed the agreement, which Acwa Power announced on 31 May.

According to the MoU, Acwa Power will develop, operate and maintain 12,000MW of renewable energy electricity generation units, including storage systems and transmission lines, along with a water desalination plant, electrolysers and infrastructures to connect to the main pipeline.

The first phase would involve installing 4,000MW of renewable energy units and 2,000MW of electrolyser capacity, as well as battery storage facilities, to produce 200,000 t/y of green hydrogen. 

The green hydrogen production is expected to be exported through the South2 Corridor, a hydrogen pipeline initiative led by European transmission system operators (TSOs) and identified as a Project of Common Interest by the EU, connecting Tunisia to Italy, Austria and Germany.

“This project aligns perfectly with the Tunisian government's national green hydrogen strategy, released in October 2023, which targets an annual production of 8.3 million tonnes of green hydrogen and byproducts by 2050," said Ouael Chouchene, Tunisia's secretary of state for energy transition.

In addition to the $8.4bn Neom green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia, which is under construction, Acwa Power is also developing a green hydrogen project in Uzbekistan. 

A previous plan to develop a green hydrogen scheme in Oman, which has a comparable capacity to that of the Neom facility, has been shelved.