Under the agreement, CWP has said the project will make a major contribution to realising Africa’s wider aspirations of seeing cleaner and more secure energy supplies on the continent, while creating green job and generating exports to emerging markets for low-carbon fuels and industrial products.

Additionally, at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Mark Crandall, Chairman of CWP Global said the 10GW project, could provide more “secure potable water” to local communities.

Crandall explained, “HE Yonis Ali Guedi (Djibouti Minister for Energy and Natural Resources) and his team, have confirmed our alignment and shared vision for a pioneering 10GW renewable energy hub with the capacity to diversify Djibouti’s energy mix, provide secure potable water supplies to local communities, further develop local and regional agriculture, and open the door to emerging international markets for green hydrogen and derivatives, including green ammonia.”

In an interview with H2 View, speaking about Masdar’s report which found that Africa could produce 30-60 million tonnes of hydrogen annually, with a large portion expected to meet export demand, Faye Al Hersh, Technology Specialist, Strategy and Corporate Development at Masdar, said that green hydrogen projects could help the expansion and accelerate of the supply of desalinated water for domestic demand.

Read more: Africa could produce 30-60 million tonnes of hydrogen annually

Read more: Africa’s hydrogen future – an interview with Masdar

Al Hersh, said, “The deployment of green hydrogen projects could help the expansion and acceleration of the supply of desalinated water, where desalination plants could be oversized to serve domestic demand.”

Commenting on the signing of the agreement, Alex Hewitt, CEO of CWP, said, “We’re very proud at CWP to be playing a major role in delivering this new phase of sustainable, zero-emissions economic growth in Africa.

“We intend to utilise our experience in developing a leading Power-to-X portfolio over the last five years to move quickly and collaboratively in developing this project in Djibouti, a country blessed with outstanding natural resources and a highly strategic location.”