The report outlines three possible pathways for Mauritania to export renewable hydrogen: shipping hydrogen to global markets in the form of ammonia; coupling existing iron ore mining with renewable hydrogen to produce higher-value direct reduced iron for export; and transporting hydrogen to Europe through a pipeline connecting Mauritania to Spain.
Renewable Energy Opportunities for Mauritania finds that the country could deploy these resources at scale to generate low-cost renewable electricity and hydrogen through electrolysis.
Mauritania currently has the largest pipeline of renewable hydrogen projects to 2030 in sub-Saharan Africa. However, successfully implementing these projects is conditional on attracting sufficient investment, which in turn depends on reducing risk by securing demand from foreign offtakers.
The report’s analysis finds that expanding renewable generation capacity in Mauritania could improve the sustainability of mining operations, which currently represent close to a quarter of the country’s GDP. These operations are energy-intensive, and mines currently rely predominantly on fossil fuels for their electricity supply.
Driven by this momentum, the country has signed a memorandum of understanding for the implementation of the largest green hydrogen production project in the world, which Mauritania intends to develop in partnership with CWP Global, an Australian renewable energy development company led by an American founder and CEO.
Investing in Mauritania can offer a wide range of opportunities, particularly in the energy sector. With major gas discoveries and large-scale renewable energy projects in development, the country is poised for significant growth in this area.