A plan to deploy 60GW of wind and solar alongside massive electrolyser capacity will create one of the world’s largest green energy parks in Mauritania, claimed the developer behind the project, called Megaton Moon.
Denmark-based GreenGo Energy has applied to the west African nation’s government to site the renewables alongside 35GW of electrolysers in a phased build-out between 2028 and 2035.
The developer, which said it met Mauritanian officials last week to discuss the project and the nation's own plans for a law covering green H2, reckons the development could eventually power production of some four million tonnes a year of hydrogen for 18 million tonnes of green ammonia output.
GreenGo Energy did not say how much the giant plan would cost, but claimed it would be financed through its “entrenched partnership approach with Tier 1 investors in the green energy space”.
GreenGo Energy has been active since 2011 and has an existing 27GW renewables pipeline, according to its website. Its founder and CEO, Karsten Nielsen, previously built the Bang&Olufsen ICE Power audio technology business while the management team also includes former First Solar and SunPower executives.
The company in January this year unveiled a Megaton Energy Park plan in Denmark itself to tap 4GW of wind and solar to produce hydrogen.
The Mauritania plan joins a string of green fuels mega-projects at various stages of fruition around the world, but almost all still short of final investment decisions, catalogued recently by Recharge’s sister title Hydrogen Insight.
GreenGo Energy claimed as well as supporting much-needed green fuels production for the energy transition – it reckons it could meet 1% of global renewable H2 needs by 2050 – Megaton Moon would use some of its 190TWh of annual power output for local requirements, including desalination.
Nielsen said: “Mauritania holds some of the best solar and wind resource cross in the world, large areas of suitable flat land and coastal proximity for water and shipping. Green hydrogen production cost is half of Northern Europe, potentially lower.
“Furthermore, the region has some of the most operator-friendly fiscal policies on the continent, as documented by a history of significant oil and gas investments by world energy majors.”
