TE H2 a joint-venture between TotalEnergies and EREN Groupe, together with VERBUND, Austria’s leading electricity company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Tunisia to study the implementation of a large green hydrogen project named “H2 Notos” for export to Central Europe through pipelines.
TE H2 is an 80/20 joint-venture formed by TotalEnergies and EREN Groupe, specialized in developing and structuring large-scale green hydrogen projects located in world-class sites benefitting from exceptional renewable resources, such as North Africa, Latin America, and Australia.
H2 Notos project aims to initially produce 200,000 tons of green hydrogen annually, then it will scale production to one million tons per year in South Tunisia. The project will utilize electrolyzes powered by onshore wind and solar projects, with desalinated sea water.
The project will leverage the “SoutH2 Corridor,” a hydrogen pipeline linking North Africa to Italy, Austria, and Germany, set for commissioning around 2030.
“The signing of this MOU with the Republic of Tunisia marks the actual start of this highly ambitious project after months of work and interactions with all stakeholders. We are delighted to partner with VERBUND to support the development of such a pioneering and ambitious endeavor in such a strategic location,” said David Corchia, CEO of TE H2.
TE H2 and Austria electricity company, VERBUND will lead the project’s development, financing, construction, and operation, ensuring green electricity to green hydrogen production. Moreover, VERBUND will oversee hydrogen transport to Central Europe.
“H2 Notos has the potential to become a significant supplier of green hydrogen for Europe while fostering significant jobs creation in Tunisia. We are entering into a phase of greenfield development and major technical work to assess the feasibility of the project and we will need to further deepen the highly constructive and fruitful collaboration we have enjoyed with the national and local authorities through H2 Notos,” said Corchia.
“This agreement with TE H2 and VERBUND marks a significant step forward in our quest for clean, sustainable energy. Tunisia, firmly committed to its energy transition, sees in this project a strategic pivot to strengthen its attractiveness as a destination of choice for foreign investment in renewable energies,” said Fatma Thabet Chiboub, Tunisia’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy.
For his part, Michael Strugl, CEO of VERBUND AG, added: “Tunisia is a particularly important upstream region in terms of scalability and competitiveness and a significant part of VERBUND’s hydrogen plans. We have set ourselves the goal of supplying the European industry with green hydrogen. By combining competitive hydrogen production in Tunisia and pipeline-based transportation, we can ensure a long-term supply at scale to support a sustainable transition of our customers to green hydrogen as well as support a sustainable economic development in Tunisia. We are delighted to be working with a strong consortium capable of realizing GW-scale projects and look forward to developing them in partnership and close collaboration with the Tunisian authorities and population.”
