London-listed Chariot has penciled a deal with Rotterdam port in the Netherlands that could pave the way for exports of green hydrogen from a proposed 10 gigawatt project in Mauritania.
Six months ago, Chariot signed a memorandum of understanding with Mauritania's government to progress the potential green hydrogen scheme, which is named Project Nour.
The project covers two exclusive onshore solar licenses and an offshore wind tract, which cover a total area of about 14,400 square kilometres.
Hydrogen could either be exported as a liquid or as ammonia — potentially from Nouadhibou port — with the scheme expected to produce about 600,000 tonnes per annum.
According to Chariot, the latest MoU with the Port of Rotterdam International is a first step towards establishing supply chains to import green hydrogen and ammonia to meet expected demand in the Netherlands and other countries in northwest Europe, with the two parties to work together to connect with off-takers and secure contracts for specific volumes.
Rene van der Plas, director of Port of Rotterdam International, stated that Project Nour “could turn Mauritania into a leading supplier of green hydrogen to Europe, making it one of the largest energy projects of its kind in the world”.
Benoit Garrivier, chief executive of Chariot transitional power, said the MoU “is a considerable step forward for us on our green hydrogen project (which) has the potential to establish the country as one of the cheapest producers of green hydrogen”.
“Our ambition is to help the nation become one of the world’s main producers and exporters of green hydrogen. We look forward to announcing further developments with this project in due course,” he said.
Speaking to Upstream at the end of October, Chariot’s acting chief executive Adonis Pouroulis said the company does not have the wherewithal to fully finance the green hydrogen scheme so was seeking a partner:
“We caught the attention of some big players with the announcement of the green hydrogen project in Mauritania (in September),” he said.
“At 10 GW, it’s too big a project for Chariot on its own so it will be developed by a consortium. The big thing for us is to form a consortium. You need the ‘big bucks’ balance sheet.”
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