BERLIN - Angola is set to become Germany's first supplier of green hydrogen from renewable energy after its state-owned energy company Sonangol signed a letter of intent to build a factory with two German engineering firms on Wednesday.

The green ammonia factory should be ready to export from 2024, said Angola's minister for gas, Pedro de Azevedo.

Green ammonia is a liquid energy carrier that can be used to transport green hydrogen over long distances.

Some 280,000 tons of green ammonia will initially be produced for export, according to Stefan Liebing, head of one of the German companies involved, Conjuncta.

The factory should be ready for rapid production shortly after it is built in the port of Barra do Dande due to the availability of electricity from a hydroelectric plant, water and infrastructure, said Stefan Tavares Bollow, managing director of the other German firm, Gauff Engineering.

The German government is seeking partners around the world from whom they can import green hydrogen, which is intended to replace fossil fuels such as oil and gas.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Miranda Murray Editing by Madeline Chambers)