Green Hydrogen
Hydrogen is a key component of the energy transition with huge market growth potential
10GW
Renewable power generation potential
1.2Mt
Targeted Green H2 production by 2030
5,000km²
Approx. project area
Mauritania
PROJECT NOUR
Chariot’s green hydrogen project, “Project Nour”, spans two onshore areas totalling approx. 5,000km², across northern Mauritania; a location that takes advantage of the wide scale wind and solar potential, important for large-scale renewable energy generation and low-cost hydrogen production.
Project Nour also benefits from geographical proximity to Nouadhibou (Mauritania’s deep-sea port) and to large European markets, with the potential to make Mauritania one of the world’s main producers and exporters of green hydrogen.
Chariot is working in partnership with the Government of Mauritania to support their ambition to become a leading producer and exporter of green hydrogen, the latter strengthened through the MoU signed with the Port of Rotterdam in April 2022, which was a first step in establishing supply chains to enable the sale of green hydrogen and its derivative products (notably ammonia) into Europe.
With up to 10GW of installed electrolysis to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia, Project Nour could become one of the largest global projects of its kind by 2030. The Project has the ability to create a range of positive impacts through socio-economic development in Mauritania through increased investment, job creation, skill development and increased government revenues.
Its world class potential was verified by the Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”), as announced in May 2022. Chariot is partnering with Total Eren to co-develop this project.
Further green hydrogen opportunities are under evaluation.
Green hydrogen is a strategic priority for Chariot and will form a substantial part of the global energy transition. Project Nour has the potential to be one of the key sources of green energy of the future with the opportunity to deliver a wide range of positive impacts.
Laurent Coche
CEO Chariot Green Hydrogen
THE MARKET OPPORTUNITY
Green hydrogen, produced by splitting water through electrolysis using renewable energy, currently makes up 2-4% of total global hydrogen production, approximately 115 Mt per annum. The International Renewable Energy Agency (“IRENA”) projects that the combined value of hydrogen and its derivatives will be larger than the fossil fuel market by 2050 and estimates that global demand will reach up to 800 Mt by that decade, with green hydrogen potentially meeting up to 100% of this demand. As demand rises and green hydrogen is increasingly adopted as a reliable, sustainable energy source, Deloitte predicts that the market is expected to be greater than the value of liquid natural gas trade by 2030 and further grow to reach US1.4 trillion per year by 2050.
Project Nour has the ability to generate 1.2 Mt of green hydrogen per year, so meeting global demand would require over 600 similar-sized projects. This demonstrates the enormous growth potential of the hydrogen industry and the need for giga-scale projects like Nour. This scale of green hydrogen production will require massive amounts of dedicated renewable energy generation and infrastructure but will be an essential component for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy industry, shipping and transport.
Local Content
Socio-economic benefits of hydrogen projects have become a focal area and Chariot is currently developing a dedicated programme in line with the Government’s recently published local content strategy. The partnership has teamed up with a consultancy to find areas of opportunity for local businesses and assess the training needed to maximise local labour, with the aim of ensuring as much in-country participation as possible. Seventeen focus areas have been identified, based upon the additional skills, certifications and capital required.
This analysis has been shared with the business community and selected donor organisations to look to target specific investments needed to make successful bids and incentive mechanisms are being devised to ensure local content is actively promoted during the tendering process.
The Chariot-Total Eren partnership is proud to be working alongside the Government of Mauritania to support its ambition to become a leading producer and exporter of green hydrogen, while ensuring that Nour delivers in-country value in line with broader economic development.
PRODUCING GREEN HYDROGEN: THE METHOD
Desalinated water is an essential component of green hydrogen production, so the capacity to implement desalination solutions powered by renewable energy, a focus for Chariot’s water business, will also be a critical part of the feasibility for both Project Nour and other green hydrogen projects.
PHASING AND DE-RISKING IN MOROCCO
Chariot is focused on establishing early production on commercial basis – a deliberate phasing approach is key to de-risking projects.
Early stage, smaller scale trials are of great importance to de-risk projects by showcasing project delivery and local value, proving up technology, as well as generating early revenues and creating the basis for deploying larger commercial phases. Chariot will continue to look at other proofs of concept with other industry partners, as collaboration and sharing expertise and resources will be key to accelerating progression across the sector. The first proof of concept is under development at OCP’s Jorf Lasfar industrial site in Northern Morocco, in partnership with UM6P and Oort Energy.
