- German gas supplier and Algeria’s state-owned energy company Sonatrach have now established collaboration on a green hydrogen value chain
- The collaboration serves as a foundation for the ramp-up of the German-Algerian hydrogen economy
VNG AG, a German gas supplier, and Algeria’s state-owned energy company Sonatrach have now established collaboration on a green hydrogen value chain which will enable the import of clean fuel from Algeria to Germany.
Both companies have signed a declaration of intent at the 4th Germanu-Algerian Energy Day in Algiers on Tuesday. The agreement aimed at considering the possibilities of long-term projects that will aid green hydrogen export from Algeria to Germany.
In the initial phase of the project, the two companies will work together on scientific and technical issues related to the green hydrogen value chain like infrastructure and potential for joint commercial projects.
The collaboration serves as a foundation for the ramp-up of the German-Algerian hydrogen economy, according to VNG’s executive Hans-Joachim Polk. Germany will need to import large volumes of green hydrogen in order to meet domestic demand and imports from Algeria could play an important role in the future as the potential for this is huge, Hans-Joachim Polk says.
Sonatrach is part of Algeria’s national hydrogen roadmap under which pilot projects should be launched by 2030. The international connection between Algeria and Europe, which can be used for the transport of green hydrogen, as well as Algeria’s solar potential, allows Sonatrach to pursue a long-term strategy for green hydrogen projects at competitive costs, Sonatrach’s executive Fethi Arabi explained.
The existing gas infrastructure is expected to play an important role in the hydrogen ramp-up in the future, according to Polk. In Germany, VNG operates both gas pipelines and storage facilities through its subsidiaries Ontras Gastransport GmbH and VNG Gasspeicher GmbH. Ontras is already involved in projects for the creation of a network for green hydrogen transport in Germany.