Mauritania
Green hydrogen Vision
Mauritania has excellent renewable energy prospects making it a potential leading green hydrogen producer in Africa. Significant green hydrogen project developments and Mauritania’s proximity to the European market has the potential to increase export benefits, in addition to providing power to the national grid and various industrial activities, such as green steel production.
National Strategy
The Ministry of Energy in Mauritania released a strategic roadmap in 2021focused on advancing the low-carbon hydrogen industry within the country. Developed by the consulting firm AFRY, this roadmap seeks to identify opportunities for green hydrogen production while outlining the necessary steps to take advantage of these prospects. The roadmap sets an ambitious target for Mauritania to secure up to 1.5% of the global hydrogen market and achieve up to 1% of the global green steel market by the year 2050. To meet these goals, the potential hydrogen production for Mauritania is projected to reach 20.1 million tonnes annually.
A key roadmap recommendation is to dedicate just 5% of Mauritania’s coastal areas to wind and solar energy production. This allocation could generate up to 12 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually. Additionally, 8.1 million tonnes of hydrogen could be produced from natural gas using Steam Methane Reform (SMR) combined with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, provided adequate storage capacity is developed. Alternatively, using methane pyrolysis technology might yield 4 million tonnes of hydrogen or half of that production capacity. The study also highlights the critical need to develop infrastructure to support the burgeoning industry and establish suitable legal frameworks to govern and promote the low-carbon hydrogen sector. Furthermore, it’s noteworthy that Mauritania is initiating four projects related to green hydrogen, with a combined potential of 85 GW.
In May 2022, the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy, and Mines signed three key projects contributing to Mauritania’s leadership in the green hydrogen scene, two for green hydrogen and one focused on green steel, with plans to increase green hydrogen and ammonia production from 2030 onwards.
Capacity and Price Targets
Mauritania's flagship green hydrogen initiative, the AMAN project, developed in partnership with CWP Global, is set to produce 30 GW of energy from solar and wind sources to power electrolyzers. This could establish Mauritania as one of the world's leading producers of green hydrogen. The project, valued at approximately $40 billion, aims to cater to the increasing global demand for clean energy, particularly in Europe. By 2040, Mauritania seeks to export significant quantities of green hydrogen, supported by regional and global infrastructure [1] [2]
Impact Targets
The green hydrogen roadmap is expected to significantly boost Mauritania's economy, with projections indicating a GDP increase of 40–50% by 2030 and 50–60% by 2035. Job creation is a central focus, with the potential to reduce national unemployment by almost one-third by 2035. Furthermore, the project promises to enhance local energy security, deliver over 50 million m³ of desalinated water annually for agricultural and domestic use, and provide green hydrogen-powered transport solutions, including 60 zero-emission buses. [1] [2]
Policy and Project Spotlight
With a series of agreements being finalized, lawmakers in Nouakchott have acted swiftly. Mauritania has become the first country in the world to pass a "hydrogen code" law, establishing a precedent for the regulation of green hydrogen. Ratified by the National Assembly in September 2024, this legislative framework aims to attract foreign investment by offering VAT and export tax exemptions, significantly reduced import duties on essential equipment, and a progressive corporate tax scheme. This scheme starts at 15% and only increases after projects have recuperated their initial investments, capping off at 30% for what is considered "super profits."
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Project Aman: The Government of Mauritania and renewable energy developer CWP have signed an MoU for the development of a US$40 billion project on the construction of the green hydrogen production facility. The project is situated in a 8,500km2 site in the country’s northern desert and coastal regions of Dakhlet Nouadhibou and Inchiri. The hybrid generators are made with wind and solar power with a capacity of 30 GW (18 GW wind and 12 GW solar), which will generate 110 TWh of electricity per annum and is expected to produce 1.7 million tons of green hydrogen and 10 million tons of green ammonia. This output is vast compared to the neighbouring country Morocco, almost three times higher than Morocco’s annual energy consumption. This project is expected to increase Mauritania’s GDP by 50-60% by 2035.
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Project Nour: Following the successful completion of a pre-feasibility study, Africa-focused transitional energy group, Chariot signed a landmark deal for green hydrogen with the Mauritanian Government in September 2021. The expected capacity for the project is 10GW. This project could become one of the largest green hydrogen projects globally by 2030. It is spread over an onshore and offshore area of about 14,400 square kilometres producing power from solar and wind resources for electrolysis to produce green hydrogen.
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Green Steel with ArcelorMittal: In May 2022, Mauritania’s state-backed SNIM (Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière de Mauritanie) signed an MoU with ArcelorMittal establishing a steel unit. The project will involve the production of 2.5 million tonnes of green steel per year. ArcelorMittal will carry out a pre-feasibility study over the next four to six months.
Financing
- In June 2022, Mauritanian President El Ghazouani signed a declaration with Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), to discuss cooperation with the world’s largest international public bank and agreed to strengthen collaboration to scale up wind, solar and green hydrogen investment. Going forward, EIB will support Mauritania's green hydrogen investment plans
- Project Aman with CWP is worth US$40 billion.