Mauritania draws up a roadmap for the low-carbon hydrogen industry
The Mauritanian Ministry of Energy has published a strategic roadmap for the development of a low-carbon hydrogen industry in Mauritania. The roadmap, drawn up by the consulting firm AFRY, aims to explore the opportunities linked to the production of green hydrogen, while presenting the levers needed to capitalize on these opportunities.
The ambitious goal set by this roadmap is to enable Mauritania to capture up to 1.5% of the global hydrogen market and up to 1% of the global green steel market by 2050. To achieve these objectives, Mauritania’s total hydrogen production potential is estimated at 20.1 million tonnes per year.
One of the roadmap’s key proposals is to allocate just 5% of Mauritania’s coastal regions to wind and solar power generation. This would enable the production of up to 12 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year. A further 8.1 million tonnes of hydrogen could be produced from natural gas using Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) and CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, once adequate storage capacity is in place. Alternatively, methane pyrolysis technology could contribute 4 million tonnes of hydrogen, or half of this production.
The study also stresses the importance of developing the necessary infrastructure to support this emerging industry, as well as the development of appropriate legal frameworks to regulate and promote the low-carbon hydrogen sector.
Mauritania is currently launching four green hydrogen projects, with a total potential of 85 GW.
