Oman aims to produce 1 million mt of green hydrogen by 2030

Oman intends “to become one of world’s leading green hydrogen hubs," said Abdulaziz Al Shidhani of Oman’s Renewable Energy and Hydrogen.

PHOTO: Renewable Energy and Hydrogen director general Abdulaziz Al Shidhani speaking at the event. Oman News Agency

Oman made the announcement at “The Future of Green Energy” press conference on Sunday. The sultanate has created a state-owned hydrogen-focused energy company, Hydrogen Oman (HYDROM), to oversee its hydrogen project, saying these moves are in sync with its plans to have net zero emissions by 2050.

“Oman is committed to decarbonise and help the world decarbonise,” Oman’s Energy Minister Salim Al Aufi said at the event.

HYDROM, which will be regulated by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, will allocate government land to developers and aid them in planning green hydrogen production projects. It will also work closely with Oman’s Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) to develop public infrastructure to connect these hubs.

First of these land blocks for the hydrogen hubs will be up for public bidding on 6 November this year. The land blocks will be awarded as early as 2023, as the country intends to reach an inter 2030 production target. The process will be overseen by HYDROM.

The announcements come just before the COP27 climate change conference in Egypt in November.

Although markets for hydrogen as an alternative fuel are in their infancy, shipping and other industries have been becoming increasingly aware of its potential as a clean source of energy. Especially green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy.

This heightened focus on hydrogen has been evident in a host recent shipping announcements.

This month, Corvus Energy said it is developing a large-scale proton exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cell system for ships and will test them in Norway's Bergen. And French container shipping company CMA CGM became the latest investor in Hy24 – a clean hydrogen infrastructure fund.

In September, Dutch crew vessel maker Windcat Workboats announced its intention to add six more hydrogen-fuelled crew transfer vessels by 2024 after a successful pilot run earlier this year. And French hydrogen producer Lhyfe commissioned an offshore green hydrogen production plant with 1 MW electrolyser capacity and a production capacity of 400 kg/day.

By Tuhin Roy

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