Hyrasia One, a subsidiary of the European cleantech Svevind Energy Group, is planning one of the world’s largest industrial plants for the production of pure green hydrogen in the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan.
The group’s CEO, Wolfgang Kropp, and First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Roman Sklyar, signed the investment agreement on 27 October in Astana, in the presence of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and European Council President Charles Michel, during the latter’s official visit to Kazakhstan.
The plan is to build wind energy and photovoltaic plants with a nameplate capacity of around 40 gigawatts in the vast steppes of southwest Kazakhstan. The renewable energy of about 120 terawatt-hours per year generated by these plants will supply an industrial park of electrolysers on the coast of the Caspian Sea, which will have a total capacity of 20 gigawatts and produce up to two million tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to about one fifth of the expected EU import demand for green hydrogen in 2030. Hyrasia One could thus become a supporting pillar for the hydrogen markets currently emerging in Europe, as well as in Kazakhstan itself and in Asian countries.
Kazakhstan is an ideal location for clean energy and green hydrogen production. The vast steppes have excellent year-round wind conditions and solar irradiance is far more intense than in Central Europe, for example.
Wolfgang Kropp, Managing Director of Hyrasia One and founder and CEO of Svevind Energy Group
On 22 October, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Tokayev discussed the details of an agreement of strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, batteries and green hydrogen between the EU and Kazakhstan and both Tokayev and Michel welcomed the upcoming signing of the Memorandum of Understanding during their meeting. The new production and distribution plant to be built by Hyrasia will play a key role in Kazakhstan’s supply of green hydrogen to the EU.
The investment agreement that has now been signed defines decisive project parameters, such as the land to be made available, access to infrastructure, the unhindered movement of goods and capital and other economic and legal conditions. Hydrogen production in the Mangystau region is scheduled to start as early as 2030 and reach full capacity by around 2032. The final investment decision for the project, worth around 40 to 50 billion US dollars, will be made in 2026.
“With HYRASIA ONE, we are providing energy and feedstock security on a unique industrial scale. The investment agreement signed today takes the project into the next, decisive phase. We consider ourselves fortunate to have found a reliable partner in the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which supports our plans and has recognized the enormous economic potential of producing large quantities of green hydrogen”, said Kropp.
The first project development phase was already completed in the summer of 2022 with the conclusion of the concept design study, prepared in cooperation with the consulting firms ILF Consulting Engineers and Roland Berger Management Consultants.
