TotalEnergies firm, VERBUND to supply green hydrogen from Tunisia to Europe through pipeline

TE H2 – a joint-venture between TotalEnergies and EREN Groupe – together with Austria’s leading electricity company VERBUND, have signed an MoU with the Government of Tunisia to study the implementation of a large green hydrogen project named “H2 Notos” for export to Central Europe through pipelines.

The company said that H2 Notos aims to produce green hydrogen using electrolysers powered by large onshore wind and solar projects and supplied with desalinated sea water. The project aims to produce 200,000 tons of green hydrogen annually during its initial phase, with the potential to scale up production to one million tons per year in South Tunisia.

The project will have access to the European market through the “SoutH2 Corridor”, a hydrogen pipeline project connecting North Africa to Italy, Austria, and Germany, which is expected to be commissioned around 2030.

TE H2, together with VERBUND, will be leading the development, financing, construction, and operation of the integrated project from production of green electricity to production of green hydrogen. In addition, VERBUND will coordinate the transport of the produced hydrogen towards Central Europe.

David Corchia, CEO of TE H2, said, “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.”

Michael Strugl, CEO of VERBUND AG, added, “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.”

VERBUND Green Hydrogen GmbH is part of VERBUND, Austria’s leading energy company and one of the largest hydropower producers in Europe.