Hydrogen and renewables at centre of German economy minister’s Algeria visit

Germany and Algeria are discussing closer bilateral cooperation in the rollout of renewables and green hydrogen during a visit by economy minister Robert Habeck to the north African state. Another focus of the trip will be the roundtable on the ‘SouthH2 Corridor,’ which is meant to enable hydrogen imports by pipeline from Algeria and Tunisia to Italy, Austria and Germany in the future, the ministry explained in a press release. “The potential of Africa's largest country in close proximity to Europe for the generation of sustainable energy and climate-friendly transformation is enormous,” Habeck said. “German companies can be important partners here and help Algeria to diversify its economy, make it fit for the future and create new jobs.”

During his visit, which is due to conclude on 8 February, minister Habeck is set to meet Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the minister of energy and mines, Mohamed Arkab, and the minister of industry and pharmaceutical products, Ali Aoun. Towards the end of last year, Germany and Italy already agreed to expand energy cooperation in order to strengthen supply security and the transition to climate neutrality. Gas and hydrogen pipelines across the Alps are a key piece of that expansion initiative. Germany plans to use green hydrogen to decarbonise its industry, but the country faces high costs and technical hurdles when importing hydrogen-based fuels by ship. Algeria, Tunisia and Spain could be the best and most cost-effective countries from which Germany can import green hydrogen, if pipelines are ready for transport, according to researchers. Germany is set to hold auctions to support the construction of new gas-fired power plants in the short term, which would then be converted to run on hydrogen in the mid-to-late 2030s, the ruling coalition said this week.