Infinity Power Holding and German project developer Conjuncta GmbH have inked a $34 billion deal with the government of Mauritania to develop a green hydrogen plant northeast of the capital Nouakchott that would eventually have a capacity of up to 10 GW.

Meanwhile, as part of the deal, the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mauritania’s Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy for the ambitious endeavour.

The plant will be built in four phases and the initial phase with a capacity of 400 MW is planned to be operational by 2028. Eventually, the facility will have electrolysers of up to 10 GW. At that point, the plant is expected to produce millions of tons of green hydrogen or its equivalent in renewable fuels of non-biological origins for export purposes.

The company stated in a joint statement with the firms involved and the Mauritanian government that the project will have a production capacity of up to eight million tonnes of green hydrogen or other hydrogen-based end products annually, with an electrolyser capacity of up to ten gigawatts.

Green Hydrogen Economy

Mauritania’s Minister of Petroleum, Mines and Energy Mohamed Saleh, on his part, said “Our country is determined to play a leading position on the global map of the green hydrogen economy in the coming decades. We strongly believe that the development of the green hydrogen industry in Mauritania will bring environmental, economic and social benefits to our country and the world”.

“(This project) will have a strong link to Germany both as a technology provider and a potential offtaker of green energy,” Conjuncta Chief Executive Stefan Liebing said.

The construction of the plant is estimated to create about 3,000 jobs while the operation of the plant will require 1,000 workers.

Both Infinity Power and Conjuncta are focused on Africa. Infinity Power, a joint venture created by Egypt’s Infinity and UAE’s Masdar to develop wind and solar projects across Africa, has an operational capacity of almost 1.3 GW, while its development pipeline includes 12 GW of projects at different stages of development.

The partners join a group of companies that have set their sights on Mauritania’s green hydrogen potential. BP plc said last November it would explore opportunities for large-scale green hydrogen production in the African country. Chariot Ltd and France’s Total Eren are also studying the potential for building a plant that could reach an electrolyser capacity of up to 10 GW.

Germany has been scrambling to ramp up its renewables capacity to compensate for Russian fuel imports and meet climate targets. In December, Berlin approved the construction of the country’s first hydrogen pipeline network.