The kick-off workshop for a pathbreaking study on Algeria’s potential for green hydrogen has been held on February 15, 2021. Merouane Chabane, Chef de Cabinet of the recently formed Algerian Ministry for Energy transition and Renewable Energies (MTEER) opened the workshop, stressing the Algerian potential in the field and the importance of the work undertaken in the context of the Algerian-German Energy partnership.

Beside participants of the MTEER there were representatives present of the industrial giant Sonatrach and the Renewable Energies Development Centre CDER, as well as German experts of GIZ, commissioned by the German ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi), and Tractebel, the consultant in charge of the scoping study.

The background for the study is a worldwide trend to turn to "Power-to-X" technologies in order to find ways to stock energy by transforming power, i.e. electricity from renewable sources. “X” can be replaced by: heat, hydrogen, gas, liquid, or chemical elements in general. Hydrogen and other gases are the most interesting products in the "Power-to-X" process and can be used in several industrial processes. Thus, producing them in an eco-friendly way by plants using renewable energy and via electrolysis is a real step towards reducing emissions of the heavy industry and the transport sectors.

Algeria's existing infrastructure in the oil and gas sector (pipelines, liquified gas terminals etc.), its industrial gas industry, along with its exceptional potential in wind and solar energy and its proximity to European markets, make it a potential supplier of green hydrogen or other valuable gases. A domestic production of green hydrogen would represent for Algeria an interesting opportunity to diversify its traditional markets, in line with the government’s diversification strategy. 

The scoping study is expected to illuminate aspects like the international demand for PtX/Green hydrogen and the share Algeria could potentially cover, opportunities to export new products, as well as exploring Algeria’s local market potential for green hydrogen as well as its derivates, in particular green ammonium. Its aim is present a first draft for a roadmap to establish an all-encompassing PtX industry in Algeria over the next decades (time horizon: 2030 and 2050), including an assessment of its feasibility, i.e. an action plan that can be put into practice by Algerian authorities.

For the presentation, click here.