Received with an economic delegation, the head of German diplomacy came to operationalize the roadmap sketched out during the presidential visit in July, which commits the two capitals to intensify exchanges in energy, industry, transport and investment, with an assumed focus on natural gas in the short term and hydrogen over a longer horizon.
For German authorities, Algeria is presented both as an important gas supplier to the European Union and as a potential partner in the energy transition, a dual role that distinguishes existing commercial activity from a hydrogen sector still in its infancy.
Algeria bets on hydrogen to strengthen its European energy ambitions
The German Foreign Ministry highlights the objective set by Algiers to cover up to 10% of European hydrogen consumption by 2040, a figure that illustrates the scale of ambition but also the time distance between current discussions and the volumes that could, one day, flow to the European market.
This trajectory extends the establishment in 2024 of a bilateral hydrogen working group, anchored to the Algerian-German energy partnership created in 2015, and designed as a platform to mobilize private investment in clean energy and industrial decarbonization.
Discussions around the Algeria–Europe Alliance for Green Hydrogen (ALTEH2A) and the Southern Hydrogen Corridor, known as the “SoutH2 Corridor”, have already aligned Sonatrach, Sonelgaz and the Ministry of Energy and Mines around a strategy where Algeria capitalizes on its solar and gas resources to export hydrogen and low-carbon electricity to Europe.
Memorandums to prepare concrete projects
Sonatrach and German company VNG AG signed a memorandum of understanding on 17 June 2026 in Algiers covering notably green hydrogen and methane emissions reduction, presented as a framework to identify joint decarbonization projects for hydrocarbons.
One month later, on 17 July 2026 in Berlin, another memorandum of understanding was signed between Sonatrach and Robert Bosch to explore opportunities in green hydrogen, including the manufacturing of electrolysers and the development of production capacity in Algeria, positioning the country on industrial segments of the value chain.
Algerian authorities link these agreements concluded with Bosch and also with Siemens Energy to a broader energy transition strategy, which must complement the country’s traditional role as a gas exporter with a portfolio of low-carbon projects for European partners.
The leverage effect of the relationship with the European Union
At the sixth high-level energy dialogue meeting held on 12 February 2026 in Algiers, the Algerian government and the European Commission underlined Algiers’ “competitive advantages” — natural resources, human capital and infrastructure — to host low-carbon technologies and strengthen its position as a regional supplier of renewable electricity and hydrogen.
Within this framework, the relationship with Berlin is seen as a key link in Europe’s diversification strategy, especially as President Tebboune’s visit to Berlin was an opportunity for the two executives to reaffirm their will to strengthen long-term energy cooperation beyond natural gas alone.
The Algerian-German energy partnership, formalized in 2015, rests on an institutional architecture already tested, with secretariats in Algiers and Berlin tasked with monitoring projects and feeding the energy policy dialogue between the ministries.
Next rendezvous: turning announcements into projects
On the sidelines of the presidential visit in July, a bilateral economic forum in Berlin led to the signing of around thirty agreements between German and Algerian companies, covering hydrocarbons, renewables, energy efficiency and industry, all matters that will serve as a test to assess the two countries’ ability to move from memorandum to investment.
The sectoral meetings planned under the Algerian-German energy partnership will need to clarify which hydrogen and energy transition projects will actually be financed from 2027 onward.
