UK energy company Chariot Limited and Paris-based renewable energy producer Total Eren are starting feasibility studies on a 10 GW green hydrogen project in Mauritania, according to a joint company statement. The Chariot-Total Eren feasibility study for the USD 3.5 bn plant dubbed Nour should be completed in 24 months. Chariot and Total Eren will each own 50% of the project.

This is not the first time we hear of the Nour project: Back in May (pdf), Chariot had completed pre-feasibility studies and signed a framework agreement with the Mauritanian government. The pre-feasibility study revealed that the country is exceptionally well-placed for green hydrogen production in view of its solar and wind resources, giving it the potential to produce some of the cheapest green hydrogen globally, it added.

Chariot wants to export the plant's output to Northwest Europe: The UK company had signed an MoU with the Port of Rotterdam International to work together on connecting with off-takers. “The project could turn Mauritania into a leading supplier of green hydrogen to Europe, making it one of the largest energy projects of its kind in the world,” director of Port of Rotterdam International René van der Plas had said in a statement in April.

Each company is mulling more green hydrogen projects in other African countries. “We are keen to continue to expand our green hydrogen project portfolio and, as with our renewables business, we look forward to collaborating on further [projects] alongside Total Eren in the future,” Chariot CEO Adonis Pouroulis said.