Cop 27: EU to sign three deals for green hydrogen

The EU will sign three initial agreements for imports of renewable hydrogen at the Cop 27 UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said.

An agreement with Kazakhstan was concluded on 7 November, and will be followed by deals with Namibia and Egypt, von der Leyen said. The EU will invest in the required infrastructure through the Global Gateway programme which was launched last year and has been endowed with €300bn ($299.5bn), she said. The programme is intended to "deliver sustainable and high-quality projects, taking into account the needs of partner countries and ensuring lasting benefits for local communities", according to the EU.

Renewable hydrogen is among several areas covered by the agreement with Kazakhstan, alongside raw material supply chains and batteries. The agreement sets out objectives for the partners, including to identify joint projects, align on environment, social and governance standards, increase transparency around investments and to co-operate on research and innovation. The EU and Kazakhstan plan to develop a more specific roadmap for 2023-24 "with concrete joint actions" in the next six months, the commission said.

Kazakhstan's abundant wind power generation capacity could allow for extensive renewable hydrogen production in the country. The government late last month signed an investment agreement with Hyrasia One, a subsidiary of German renewable project developer Svevind, for development of a 20GW renewable hydrogen project, one of the largest planned globally. The project in the Mangystau region could produce around 2mn t/yr by 2032, equivalent to around one-fifth of the 10mn t/yr that the EU aims to import by the end of this decade. That said, some of the supply will probably be used domestically or could be exported elsewhere.

Namibia and Egypt are also well placed for renewable hydrogen production at relatively low costs, as they can harness strong solar and wind power. The EU's agreement with Namibia is expected to be signed on 8 November.

Individual EU countries are using the Cop summit to ink their own deals with potential hydrogen suppliers. The Netherlands announced on 7 November that it had concluded an initial agreement with Oman, setting out plans to jointly develop import and export facilities and to collaborate on research. The agreement will also serve as a "concrete starting point" for co-operation between the Dutch port of Rotterdam and the port of Sohar in Oman, the Dutch government said.

By Stefan Krumpelmann