Amphitheatre 800, an auditorium of the Ecole Nationale d’Ingenieurs de Tunis (French: ENIT) – Tunisia’s National Engineering School- is presently housing the first Tunisian-Bavarian technology and innovation hub for green hydrogen.
The hub, launched Wednesday, is a platform of exchange and training intended to promote research and develop top notch technologies in connection to green hydrogen.
Scaled-up scientific and technological cooperation is an additional target along with the stepped-up exchange of experiences and partnerships. The hub also offers training and skill-building opportunities for professionals.
The creation of this hub was mandated under the German Government and Federal States Programme (German: Bund-Länder-Programm, BLP) , as part of the Tunisian-Bavarian Programme of Technologies and Innovation for Green Hydrogen which supplements the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Green hydrogen for sustainable growth and a low-carbon economy in Tunisia’ programme implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in close collaboration with Tunisia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy.
Tunisia cannot bear alone all investment costs
Tunisia’s energy independence rate stands currently at 50%, Director-General of electricity and energy transition at the Ministry of Industry Belhassen Chiboub said. There is need for it to have its focus shifted to renewables and green hydrogen.
Green hydrogen which is produced from solar energy (alternatively wind energy or hydropower) will help generate green electricity that will be used in several sectors, including industry, the official added. This will help attain the net zero emissions target by 2050.
Cooperation with Germany is of paramount importance as Tunisia “cannot alone bear the high investment costs.”
Halima Majoubi, Vice-President of Tunis El Manar University in charge of Scientific Research and Technological Development, said the university has the needed assets to contribute to the development of green hydrogen and meet climate and energy challenges facing Tunisia.
In addition to a network of national and international partnerships, Tunis El Manar University has built up expertise in several scientific areas and boasts a cutting-edge research infrastructure.
Tunisia, a country with high potential for the development of green hydrogen
Ambassador of Germany to Tunisia Peter Prgel said the creation of this hub will help lay the foundations of scientific research in green hydrogen and encourage innovation in this area.
“For Tunisia, a country with a high solar and wind potential, the development of green hydrogen provides good prospects in storage and resale. It can even become a key exporter in the medium and long run,” he added.
Germany signed, following the adoption of its national strategy on green hydrogen in 2020, a memorandum of understanding with Tunisia which provides for an alliance of green hydrogen.
The Tunisian-Bavarian Programme of Technologies and Innovation for Green Hydrogen also provides for strategic partnerships between scientific and industrial research institutions as well as for the empowerment of Tunisian and Bavarian women operating in this field.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse