The Government of Kazakhstan and Fortescue Future Industries have signed a Framework Agreement on the implementation of green hydrogen production projects in several regions of the country, including Atyrau and Mangystau regions, QazMonitor reports citing the press service of the Kazakh prime minister.
The agreement was signed during the meeting between Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov and Andrew Forrest, CEO of Fortescue, at the COP27 Summit of World Leaders on Climate Change in Egypt.
The implementation of the agreement is expected to contribute significantly to our country's ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
Future projects are designed to produce a significant amount of green hydrogen, which will also be supplied to the European market under a memorandum of understanding signed the day before between Kazakhstan and the European Union.
Kazakhstan could become one of the world's largest suppliers of this fuel within 5-7 years by introducing such technologies.
Producing green hydrogen is one of the largest projects of its kind in the region, according to Alikhan Smailov.
"As part of developing alternative energy sources, the production of green hydrogen is an important priority for us. According to international experts, Kazakhstan could become one of the 10 largest exporters of this environmentally-friendly fuel. To achieve this goal we need the support of strategic partners," Alikhan Smailov said.
He noted that the Kazakhstan Government has revised its system for attracting investment to increase the presence of private companies in the green energy sector.
"Our approach to encourage decarbonization will be based on the maximum use of market mechanisms and private investment," the Prime Minister stressed.
In turn, Andrew Forrest said the production and application of green hydrogen would help to decarbonize the heavy industry, create jobs and make the energy sector as a whole greener.
"We are happy to share our developments and opportunities with Kazakhstan to help realize this potential as soon as possible," Andrew Forrest said.