Italy, Germany, Austria, Algeria and Tunisia strengthened cooperation on the infrastructure connecting the two continents. The declaration was signed during the First Penta Ministerial Meeting at Villa Madama, chaired by Ministers Tajani and Pichetto.
Rome, 21 January – Italy, Germany, Austria, Algeria and Tunisia signed in Rome a joint declaration of intent on the Southern Hydrogen Corridor, an infrastructure project to transport renewable hydrogen over 3,300 kilometres from North Africa to Italy, Austria and Germany. The countries declared their intention to continue work on the development of the “SouthH2 Corridor” during the first Penta Ministerial Meeting, organised at Villa Madama by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, and the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto, chaired the Ministerial meeting. Participants included the Algerian Minister of Energy, Mining and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Arkab; the State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Philipp Nimmermann, the Director General of the Climate and Energy Directorate of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Jürgen Schneider; the Secretary of State of the Swiss Federal Council for Energy, Benoît Revaz; the Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia to Rome, Mourad Bourehla, on behalf of the Minister of Industry, Mining and Energy, Fatma Thabet Chiboub; and the Director General for Energy of the European Commission, Ditte Juul Jørgensen.
The Ministerial Meeting was followed by a Business Forum, opened by Ministers Tajani and Pichetto, which brought together companies from the signatory countries that were present or prospectively interested in the hydrogen supply chain, also in light of the strategic partnership between Europe and Africa. The Forum, divided into two sessions moderated by the Foreign Ministry’s Director General for Country Promotion, Mauro Battocchi, and the Head of the Energy Department of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, Federico Boschi, provided an overview of “SouthH2”, recognised by the European Union as a Project of Common Interest (PCI), as well as the opportunities created by the new infrastructure for companies in the supply chain.
The event gathered around 130 participants including institutional delegations and industry from the various countries involved.
Deputy Prime Minister Tajani said: ”Italy is working towards the goals of decarbonisation and energy independence in a concrete and pragmatic way, pursuing an energy mix in which renewable sources, hydrogen, and nuclear energy are adequately developed. On 5 November, we hosted the first meeting of the World Fusion Energy Group, in partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency, at the Foreign Ministry, and today we are adding a further piece to our energy strategy with the development of the Southern Hydrogen Corridor, which will further strengthen Italy’s role as a European energy hub.’’
Minister Pichetto said: “This agreement has great political and institutional value, because it reaffirms the commitment to cooperation, aimed at carrying out a decisive project for the energy future of both continents. Italy is ready with its players to be central also in the hydrogen sector, a vector projected towards a renewable and sustainable future.”