Mauritania

Wood Mackenzie has urged policymakers and companies to focus on the full life-cycle emissions of hydrogen, while a European Commission has revealed that a European business mission will visit Mauritania in March to explore hydrogen investment opportunities.

The authorities in Mauritania have obtained $289.5 million of financing for two solar projects, including a $272 million loan – the largest ever granted to the country by the African Development Bank – for a recently approved 225 kV electricity interconnection.

The African Development Fund has approved $302.9 million of financing for a 225 kV electricity interconnection project linking Mauritania and Mali. The project is part of the Desert to Power initiative, which facilitates the development of solar plants in the region.

GreenGo, a Danish developer, has unveiled plans for the Megaton Moon project in Mauritania. It will purportedly feature 60 GW of visible-from-space wind-solar capacity and 30 GW of green hydrogen capacity.

Germany advanced its hydrogen ambitions this week with a fresh call for the International Green Hydrogen Promotion Program in Latin America, a collaborative deal with the UK government, and a tie-up between DHL and Sasol for sustainable aviation fuels based on green hydrogen (eSAF).

HDF and ZETDC have signed Zimbabwe’s first utility-scale green hydrogen power plant, with 178 GWh of expected annual electricity production. Rystad Energy, meanwhile, says Africa’s total electrolyzer pipeline has hit 114 GW.

Chigozie Nweke-Eze is an economist, geographer and founder of Integrated Africa Power. He sat down with pv magazine to discuss green hydrogen development in Africa, from the project pipeline to the necessity of “additionality” when it comes to ensuring hydrogen doesn’t become yet another exploited African resource.

US scientists have reported efficient plasmonic photocatalysis for the production of hydrogen from hydrogen sulfide, with no external heat source. Egypt, meanwhile, has started commissioning Africa’s first integrated green hydrogen plant.

Private Infrastructure Development Group recently made a non-binding commitment in Brussels to a provide funds for a project that aims to bring 10 GW of solar to Africa’s Sahel region.

DNV approved HAV Group’s hydrogen-based energy system for cruise vessels, Rolls-Royce agreed to sell hydrogen-powered mtu fuel cell solutions in Germany, and the Mauritanian government signed a deal with CWP to develop a 30 GW green hydrogen project.