Page 9 - AfrElec Week 28 2021

AfrElec HYDROGEN AfrElec

Eni discusses green, blue hydrogen

production in North Africa

AFRICA REPRESENTATIVES of Italy’s Eni met with Holding Co. (EGAS), on blue and green hydro-
Egyptian and Algerian officials last week to dis- gen production. The agreement provides for
cuss the prospects for green and blue hydrogen the parties to study the commercial feasibility
production. of using electricity generated from renewable
In a statement, the Italian company said sources to produce green hydrogen and electric-
that Alessandro Puliti, its COO for natural ity generated from natural gas, with the resulting
resources, had spoken with Toufik Hakkar, the carbon dioxide emissions to be captured and
CEO of Algeria’s national oil company (NOC) stored in depleted fields, to produce blue hydro-
Sonatrach, in Algiers on July 7. Puliti and Hakkar gen, it said.
both said they hoped to expand co-operation on The study will also analyse potential demand
technical issues in line with the memorandum of for future hydrogen production, both within
understanding (MoU) signed between the two Egyptian and on the export market, the Italian
sides in late March. major said. Additionally, it will assess the com-
Specifically, they discussed plans for assess- mercial viability of several specific proposals for
ing the “technical and commercial feasibility of production and sale of hydrogen, it added.
a pilot project to produce hydrogen using elec- Eni did not reveal any details of these propos-
tricity generated from renewable sources (solar als. It did state that it was pursuing co-operation
and wind),” Eni said. The parties will also evalu- with EEHC and EGAS within the framework
ate proposals for conserving the water extracted of wider efforts “to reach the target of eliminat-
during oil production operations and using it ing Scopes 1, 2 and 3 net emissions (net GHG
as raw material for the electrolysis process that life-cycle emissions) and cancelling out the rel-
yields hydrogen, it stated. ative emission intensity (net carbon intensity)
The project is representative of both com- by 2050, referring to the entire life cycle of the
panies’ desire to reduce their greenhouse gas energy products sold.”
(GHG) emissions, it added. Egypt, meanwhile, sees co-operation with
In a separate statement, Eni reported that it Eni on hydrogen production as a way to facili-
had signed an agreement with two state-owned tate the transition to renewable energy sources
Egyptian companies, Egyptian Electricity Hold- and diversify domestic energy supply sources, it
ing Co. (EEHC) and Egyptian Natural Gas added.. ™

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