Global hydrogen generation and energy storage solutions company H2-Industries has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Swiss developer of integrated renewable energy projects Terra Sola Group.

The agreement supports Terra Sola’s development of tailor-made, large-scale integrated solar energy programmes for selected countries across Africa using H2-Industries’ liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) technology to provide technological solutions for the storage and release of electrical power for export, use as a local industrial feedstock or for grid stabilisation and/or off-grid power availability.

The multimillion-dollar partnership is aimed at accelerating the transition of local industries to renewable energy, driving electrification and boosting socioeconomic development in these selected countries.

Terra Sola brings together financial, technological and development partners to establish large-scale solar photovoltaic power plants, primarily in the Middle East, as well as Africa, where there is high demand for energy.

Today, Terra Sola, through its Algeria-based development arm Terra Sola PV Production Algérie is active in more than 17 African countries with a combined project pipeline of more than 10 GW installed solar capacity, combined with various socioeconomic benefits for its host countries, including education and job-creation programmes and the localisation of industrial production and knowledge transfer.

H2-Industries’ LOHC technology is noted to play a vital role in these integrated programmes owing to its unique technological and economic advantages.

With its technology, H2-Industries can convert power from renewable energy into hydrogen, store and transport it in LOHC and then release it for power generation (via fuel cell) in any location or for direct use in industry and/or mobility sectors, on-grid or off-grid.

“We have just returned from Egypt where COP27 was held this year, where the importance of transitioning the global energy sector has been emphasised by a dramatic call to action. 

“Together with Terra Sola, we will focus our attention on giving selected developing countries access to much-needed clean power which will help boost their long-needed economic development, while making their contribution towards the global net-zero emission targets.

“Clean energy transition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Africa, a chance to reduce poverty and lift growth potential,” says H2-Industries CEO Michael Stusch.

Several project plans are currently in the final negotiation stages with the respective government authorities of the target markets. The implementation of the first project is expected to start in the first quarter of 2023.