In a signing ceremony between company executives and government officials last week, Ethiopia issued the first-ever license for hydrogen power generation to an Australian company, Fortescue Future Industries (FFI).
Since September 2020, the corporation has been in talks with the government about its intended initiative to construct a green technology, which came to fruition after a year and a half of negotiations.
Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide was present during the beginning of the company’s service operation. The decision to grant the firm the first license is part of the country’s effort to develop greener energy from renewable sources, according to Ahmed.
“FFI’s project would be beneficial in particular for cement and fertilizer production,” Ahmed added, pledging the government’s assistance for the operation as needed.
Brook Taye (Ph.D.), a senior counselor at the Ministry of Finance, has said that the company’s power generation capacity can reach 25 GW, which is four times that of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). He emphasized that hydrogen power will benefit high-capacity fuel-consuming enterprises, trucks, trains, and even the aviation industry.
When the corporation and the government began negotiating with Sileshi Bekele (Ph.D.), the former Minister of Water, Irrigation, and Energy, in 2020, it stated an interest in investing roughly USD 10 billion in its Ethiopian project.
Eden Fenta, the business’s Ethiopian country manager, said the company will start building the factory soon after settling on the location and assessing some of the market potentials in and beyond the nation.
“There is a great demand from Germany, and it will be a significant potential for us to export energy,” Eden said, adding, “The Company may also sell electricity for home use based on local need.”
Beginning in 2026, the business expects to start producing electricity in Ethiopia, using hydropower and geothermal energy. The FFI has previously established green energy projects in countries such as Argentina, with a total project cost of USD 8.4 billion.
