OHC at GUtech signs MoU with Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Egypt

Roundup Wednesday 22/June/2022 13:51 PM
By: Times News Service
OHC at GUtech signs MoU with Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Egypt

Muscat: The Oman Hydrogen Centre (OHC) at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) in Egypt on June 22 to accelerate green hydrogen deployment and energy transition efforts in the Arab region.

The Sultanate of Oman has set, within its ambitious plans for the next stage, to expand green energy industry projects, and to ensure well-thought-out economic strategies to diversify its sources of income.

To play an influential role in environmentally friendly and clean renewable energy sources and the compliance with this new approach, Dr Sausan Al-Riyami, Director of the Oman Hydrogen Centre (OHC) in GUtech, and Dr Jauad El Kharraz, Executive Director of the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to partner on regional initiatives that address the demands of energy transition in Mena region.

The memorandum aims to cooperate on knowledge sharing and capacity development in the Sultanate of Oman and the Arab countries, mainly through supporting the key players and providing technical assistance and advice that can contribute to accelerating the energy transition and achieving the national and regional targets.

Additionally, the two parties will play a crucial role in raising awareness of the rising demand for green hydrogen, as a promising environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, among decision-makers and key players in the region which will indeed contribute to the realisation of the Sultanate of Oman's ambitions towards a policy of transition to alternative energy as part of Oman's 2040 vision.

Dr Sausan Al Riyami, Director of the Oman Hydrogen Centre, emphasised, "The significance of having joint studies and cooperation concerning green hydrogen economy topics, which several countries around the world are betting on playing an important role in reducing carbon emissions."

Also, she stated, “The Centre are in direct line with Oman Vision 2040. We are proud of the German University of Technology in Oman’s anticipation of inaugurating the Oman Hydrogen Centre as a research and scientific hub that works alongside the local, regional, and international research institutes to meet their different needs. We are pulling out all the stops to cooperate with  Research Buddies to build local competencies by attracting local, regional and international expertise, transferring and localising technology, enhancing knowledge in the green hydrogen economy sector, and contributing toward the implementation of green economy projects in the Sultanate of Oman,” confirming that the memorandum of understanding with the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) includes various initiatives related to renewable energy, energy efficiency,  green hydrogen economy and capacity development between two parties.

“For a green hydrogen economy to become a reality in the Arab region, national road maps, capacity development, and regulatory frameworks are needed to drive investment, R&D and localisation of the technologies that enable hydrogen to be stored, transported, used and exported,” said RCREEE Executive Director, Dr Jauad El Kharraz.
“Green hydrogen is expected to play a key role in the next decade in the energy transition to sustainable energy and the decarbonisation of the economic sectors in the Arab region. We must be ready in the Sultanate of Oman and the Arab countries, and this could be done only if we boost cooperation between the leading organisations, the governments, the private sector, and the financial institutions.”

It is worth noting that the Oman Hydrogen Centre is the first of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman. It aims to be a beacon for research, development, and localization of technology concerning renewable energy, mainly hydrogen". The Centre is located at the headquarters of the German University of Technology in Oman, "GUTech". It was opened in 2020 to accelerate and support the Sultanate of Oman's orientation towards the economic transformation that the world is witnessing in the field of green energy.

The Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) is an intergovernmental organization with diplomatic status that aims to enable and increase the adoption of renewable energy and energy-efficient practices across pan-Arab countries. RCREEE is the official technical arm institution of both League of Arab States – Energy Department and the Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity (AMCE). RCREEE teams up with governments, international organisations, IFIs and the Private Sector via several forms of partnerships to initiate and lead clean energy policy dialogues, strategies, and technologies, managing the facilitation of RE investment platforms and capacity development to increase the Arab states’ share of tomorrow’s modern energy solutions. Having 17 Arab countries among its members today, RCREEE strives to lead renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives and expertise in all Arab states.