EU backs North Africa hydrogen pipeline but is it a ‘green dream’ or a white elephant?

Credit: Scottish Power

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The EU’s massive over-optimism is given away by the comment that ‘neither country [Algeria and Tunisia] foresees large-scale hydrogen production until the mid-2030s.’ Another issue is an apparent lack of demand for the product, not unlike EVs and heat pumps, despite endless hype and various subsidies. Hydrogen production is an energy-intensive process, and there are unresolved problems around sending it through long-distance pipelines.
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The EU, Algeria and Tunisia want to build a subsea pipeline to export green hydrogen to the bloc by 2030 but the numbers don’t add up, says Climate Home News.

Algeria, Tunisia, Austria, Germany and Italy have agreed to construct a hydrogen pipeline to bring clean fuel generated with renewable energy in North Africa to the European Union, in a move hailed as one of the bloc’s “most important renewable energy projects”.

But analysis of Algeria and Tunisia’s green hydrogen strategies reveals that neither country is likely to be in a position to export the fuel in any meaningful quantity when the pipeline is due to start operating in 2030.

Experts told Climate Home News that despite the hydrogen hype, there are serious challenges for North Africa to become a major exporter of green hydrogen to the EU by 2030. Some question whether the pipeline should be developed at all.

Last week, ministers from each country along with Tunisia’s ambassador to Italy met in Rome where they confirmed their intentions to build the SoutH2 Corridor.

The first-of-its kind hydrogen pipeline, 3,500-4,000 kilometres long, would run under the Mediterranean Sea. It aims to connect hydrogen production centres in Algeria and Tunisia – which have yet to be built – to the Italian island of Sicily and consumer hubs in Austria and Germany by repurposing existing gas infrastructure along 65% of the route.

The corridor “is crucial for the development of an interconnected and diversified hydrogen backbone” in the EU, the consortium of European and Algerian companies developing the project says on its website.
. . .
Adrian Odenweller, a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), told Climate Home that the EU should “certainly not count on the delivery” of green hydrogen from Algeria and Tunisia any time soon.

Odenweller said he does “not expect to see any hydrogen imports via [the SoutH2 Corridor] by the year 2030” and urged policy makers to interpret project announcements “with caution”.

“Green hydrogen production projects have a poor track record and often get delayed. I would expect this to be even worse for massive infrastructure projects such as pipelines that require international coordination,” he said.

Full article here.
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Image credit: Scottish Power