Energy ministers from five North African and European nations signed a landmark agreement in Algiers to advance the SoutH2 Corridor, a proposed €13 billion ($14.1 billion) pipeline aimed at transporting green hydrogen from production hubs in North Africa to European industrial markets.
The Joint Political Declaration of Intent, signed on Thursday, October 1, by representatives from Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Austria, and Germany, formalizes a shared commitment to accelerate cross-border cooperation between governments and private energy firms.
The ambitious 3,300-kilometer (2,050-mile) infrastructure project centers around a crucial subsea pipeline link connecting the coast of Tunisia to Sicily.
Once operational, the corridor will funnel green hydrogen northward through Italy and Austria into Germany’s industrial heartland.
Developers, including regional transmission system operators and renewable energy companies, project that the pipeline could transport up to 4 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by the early 2030s.
Recognized in 2023 by the European Union as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI), the corridor is designed to leverage existing natural gas transit routes alongside newly constructed subsea and terrestrial infrastructure.
The project relies heavily on expanding North Africa’s zero-carbon production capacity, which remains largely in the early planning stages.
Under national energy roadmaps, Algeria targets more than 1 million tonnes of annual hydrogen output by 2040, while Tunisia’s green hydrogen strategy sets a target of 8.3 million tonnes of domestic hydrogen and derivative capacity by 2050.
Despite the strong political commitment expressed in Algiers, the project faces substantial operational and financial hurdles.
Existing production in both North African nations remains minimal, raising concerns among potential investors and transit nations over early supply guarantees.
Underscoring those risks, the Swiss Federal Council recently declined to fund its national segment of a separate North Africa-to-Europe hydrogen link, citing economic uncertainty surrounding production timelines in the region.
The five signatory nations plan to convene additional technical working groups later this year to structure regulatory frameworks, attract private capital, and define early volume off-take agreements.
