Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) have signed a Framework Agreement with the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to collaborate on future green hydrogen and renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan.
The Agreement, which aims to deepen Azerbaijan’s partnership with Fortescue, will explore up to 12GW of possible renewable energy projects and green hydrogen production in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan Energy Minister Shahbazov said the vision for the agreement is derived from the ‘Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-economic development’ – adopted by President Ilham Aliyev.
“Out of five national priorities, the one called Clean Environment and a Green Growth Country concretely sets forward targets that overlap with today’s agreement. Specific emphasis should be placed on the MoU signed in July this year between Mr Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, and Ms Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, which clearly sets the stage for a green energy corridor between Azerbaijan and European Union,” Minister Shahbazov stated.
The Minister further said that in recent years, strategically significant efforts had been taken with international energy corporations to build large-scale production capacity for renewable energy and green energy export: “As a result, Azerbaijan, along with transforming into a green energy country, will become an important and reliable partner for the European Union, supplying renewable energy and hydrogen after oil and natural gas. We believe that our cooperation with Fortescue Future Industries will contribute to the energy security and energy transition of partner countries.”
According to Fortescue Executive Chairman and Founder Dr Andrew Forrest AO, FFI’s discussions with the Azerbaijan Government have been positive, and the inking of the Agreement shows the potential for the partnership.
“Right across the world we are seeing the catastrophic impacts of climate change, and we believe that green hydrogen is a practical and implementable solution that can help revolutionise the way we power our planet, help decarbonise heavy industry and create local jobs,” Forrest said.
Forrest stated that despite its history as an oil and gas producing country, Azerbaijan is well positioned to join FFI in the green industrial revolution due to its strategic location in bringing green energy to European countries.
“This Framework Agreement signed today is a significant step in enabling Azerbaijan to meet the Government’s ambitious goals of reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions to 40 per cent below their 1990 levels by 2050,” Forrest added.
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