Eyebrows were raised when German-Swedish renewables firm Svevind announced last October that it had signed an agreement with the Kazakh government for a green hydrogen and ammonia project, using 40GW of wind and solar in the country’s southwest to power 20GW of electrolysers on the coast of the Caspian sea.

Hydrogen Economist spoke to Rene Pforte, chief business development officer at Svevind, to discuss the project’s timeline for development, options for offtake and potential challenges around exports.

How far has the project progressed since the signing of the investment agreement with the Kazakh government in October? 

Pforte: We have made great progress in defining the framework and development aspects of Hyrasia One more precisely. Meteorological measurements on site are currently being carried out, and the environmental and social impact assessment is in the startup phase. The pre-Feed engineering will be kicked off in the next few weeks. 

2026 – Planned FID on Hyrasia One

In addition, we are supporting the education of future engineers and scientists in the Mangystau region. We initiated and are partly funding an academic cooperation between German and Kazakh universities: the new Mangystau School for Sustainable Engineering. This is an important programme for the region and for German-Kazakh cooperation—and it is also an important programme for us.

Hyrasia One will produce approximately 2mn t/yr of green hydrogen or 11mn t/yr of green ammonia. A project of that size requires a large number of highly trained personnel. During commercial operation, Hyrasia One will require a workforce of around 1,800, and our aim is that around 90pc of these employees will be locals. 

Is the project entirely export-oriented, or is there any potential domestic offtake Svevind is exploring? 

Pforte: Exporting the green hydrogen and ammonia—for example to Europe or Asia—is just one option. Domestic use in Kazakhstan or the surrounding countries is also very attractive.

Today, the Kazakh economy is not yet oriented towards the use of green energy. However, this might change fast. One reason why the Kazakh government supports Hyrasia One is that it has great potential for the country’s green transition. We see several scenarios for this: the settlement of industry in the region is one, another is the expansion of transport routes to the industrial centres in northern and eastern parts of Kazakhstan. 

However, exporting to Europe is definitely a feasible option too. The EU urgently needs to import large amounts of green energy, especially green hydrogen or ammonia, to meet its energy transition targets and the expected rising demand of the industry. The European hydrogen market is expected to ramp up fast. And Hyrasia One could make a decisive contribution of as much as 20pc of the expected import demand. However, [what] our strategy will look like exactly will be determined when taking FID. 

Has Svevind seen more interest from potential offtakers in Europe or in Asia? 

Pforte: We see great interest in Europe, Asia, and in the [Mideast] Gulf region as well. So there are a lot of potential offtakers for our green hydrogen or ammonia. In the EU, in particular, there is a lot of interest in Hyrasia One. Furthermore, we receive numerous inquiries from industrial companies and associations interested in discussing opportunities and future prospects.

To whom ultimately how much of the hydrogen or ammonia will be delivered depends on many factors that are still open. With the FID in 2026 at the latest, we will bring clarity in that question. 

For European offtake, what infrastructure will need to be in place to export green hydrogen volumes across the Caspian Sea? 

Pforte: If we are talking about a base-case scenario, export is already possible today. Transporting green ammonia to Europe can be done by ship and railway—this is a base case. Transport via pipeline would be significantly less CO₂-intensive, more efficient and safer. From our point of view, a new pipeline would therefore be the preferable method of transport to Europe. 

---

Author: Polly Martin