All Words and Photos by Justin Jin
In the race to combat climate change, Europe faces a critical challenge: how to store and transport renewable energy from sun-drenched regions to industrial centers. French entrepreneur Thierry Lepercq believes he has the answer in green hydrogen - using solar power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, creating clean fuel that can be piped across continents. From Spain's old steel towns to Mauritania's vast Sahara desert, photographer Justin Jin follows Lepercq's ambitious journey to build the world's largest green hydrogen project. His images reveal not just an industrial transformation, but a potential new relationship between Europe and Africa in the clean energy era.
Europe needs a new energy solution. While solar and wind power offer hope against climate change, they face a critical limitation: their energy cannot be stored or transported over long distances. In Gijón, where a natural gas depot looms over the industrial skyline, this challenge meets opportunity. The northern Spanish port city mirrors Europe's energy dilemma as it transitions away from fossil fuels to a possible answer: hydrogen, which can store renewable energy for long-haul transport. Most hydrogen today comes from polluting processes run by fossil fuel companies, but "green" hydrogen offers something different. By using solar power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, it could both store renewable energy and run heavy industry without pollution. For industrial cities like Gijón, this invisible gas might bridge the gap between a fossil fuel past and a clean energy future.
Protected by special fireproof gear against the 1,500-degree heat, Lepercq studies an experimental blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Spain. The author of "Hydrogen is the New Oil" had found a promising partner in the steel giant, which pledged €1 billion to transform its operations with clean hydrogen. Steel manufacturing accounts for 10% of global emissions, making it a crucial target for decarbonization. But recent statements reveal a harsh reality: despite EU subsidies, green steel remains too expensive to compete internationally.
In Enagas' Madrid control room, Lepercq (second from right) and the company's president Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri (right) study potential pipeline routes on their monitors. The concept follows hydrogen's full journey - solar panels generate electricity in Mauritania by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, creating a transportable form of renewable energy that can be shipped to European factories. While the technical challenges are daunting, the reward could be significant: a new energy trade route.
The world's longest train, carrying iron ore, trundles through the Sahara Desert. A new kind of energy race is underway - not for oil or gas, but for the power to produce green hydrogen. Expert calculations show that covering just 0.15% of Mauritania, where 99.5% of the land is arid and unsuitable for agriculture, could generate enough power for five million tons of hydrogen annually - enough to replace 20% of Europe's Russian gas imports.
A lone camel stands beside Mauritania's iron ore railway, where the world's longest train - three kilometers of black ore cars - has traversed the Sahara for decades. The 704-kilometer track that connects inland mines to coastal ports shows how infrastructure can transform a desert economy. For Lepercq, this railway represents more than history. Hydrogen pipelines could follow a similar route, creating a renewable energy bridge between continents, carrying stored sunshine to European factories.
In the middle of the Sahara Desert, women clean solar panels that power a water pump at Ouadan oasis. This small installation demonstrates how renewable energy can transform desert life. Without these panels providing electricity to pump underground water, the community would depend on imported vegetables from as far as the Netherlands. Their work points to a larger possibility: while solar and wind power alone can't drive an energy revolution - their output too variable, too difficult to store - hydrogen could bridge this gap. By using renewable energy to produce hydrogen, Mauritania could potentially both green its desert and power European industry.
In the deep Sahara beside Mauritania's railway tracks, my guide prepares to sleep under desert stars, waiting with me for the legendary iron ore train. Here, where ancient landscape meets industrial ambition, a new kind of energy partnership might take shape. The world faces an urgent choice: continue with polluting production or embrace the clean alternative that splits water using renewable energy. Despite the challenges - from technical hurdles to regional instability - projects like HyDeal suggest a different model of Europe-Africa cooperation.