Thursday 16 / May / 2024
Muscat: The Sultanate’s green hydrogen orchestrator, announced signing two new green hydrogen projects in Dhofar worth $11 billion. The signings follow the successful completion of Hydrom’s second round of auctions bringing the total hydrogen production in Oman to 1.38 million tonnes per year (mtpa) by 2030.
The first agreement was signed with a consortium consisting of Electricité de France S.A. and its subsidiary EDF Renewables (EDF Group), Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-POWER) and YamnaCo Ltd (Yamna). The second agreement was signed with Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, and Fortescue, a global integrated green energy, metals and technology company.
Having presided over the signings, Eng. Salim Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals and Chairman of Hydrom said, “Oman is strategically located between two key green hydrogen demand centers in Europe and Asia. This, in addition to, our tier-1 infrastructure and logistics capabilities have enabled us to leverage our first mover advantage in the global hydrogen industry.”
He went on to highlight that the availability of renewable natural resources in Oman coupled with the country’s favourable geopolitical positioning, investor-friendly policies and progressive energy transition strategies make it one of the most suitable countries for green hydrogen production. As a result, Hydrom’s second round of auctions attracted global interest with over 200 companies showing interest for a chance to bid on developing integrated green hydrogen projects in what is set to become one of the largest exporter countries of low carbon hydrogen by 2030.
The project with EDF Group, J-POWER and Yamna will aim to produce approximately 178,000 tpa of green hydrogen by 2030, using approximately 4.5 GW of wind and solar energy coupled with battery storage and an approximately 2.5 GW state-of-art electrolyser. The produced hydrogen will be supplied to an ammonia plant to be built in the Salalah Free Zone and set to produce 1 mtpa of green ammonia.
The project with Actis and Fortescue will involve construction of up to 4.5GW of wind and solar renewable energy resources that will power electrolyzers with the potential to produce up to 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. This will then be sold to local industrial offtakers as well as processed into derivatives (such as green ammonia) for export via Port of Salalah. By leveraging the latest advancements in green hydrogen technology, the projects will harness shared resources and expertise to facilitate a sustainable and localised green hydrogen economy for Oman.
“The rapid pace at which Oman is advancing its green hydrogen sector is remarkable, moving from land identification to international auctions and signing agreements in just two years, and we are proud to be leading it,” said Eng. Abdulaziz Said Al Shidhani, Managing Director of Hydrom. “Today, we are marking yet another milestone in this journey by awarding two projects to our new partners. Together with the first wave of green hydrogen projects announced, Oman is taking a confident step forward towards achieving its ambitious goal to produce 1 to 1.5 million tonnes per annum of green hydrogen by 2030.”
The new hydrogen signings cover a 682 km2 area of land in total where average wind speeds range from 6.8m/s to 8.3m/s and solar irradiance levels of 2410 w/m2. Together with the six previously awarded projects in 2023, Hydrom is on target to achieve Oman’s 2030 production targets, further amplifying Oman’s potential as a key global producer of low carbon hydrogen.
Commenting on this success, Luc Koechlin, CEO Middle East of EDF said “The EDF Group and its subsidiary EDF Renewables, J-POWER and Yamna are honored to embark on this exciting journey. We are eager to contribute to the development of the green hydrogen sector in the Sultanate. We would like to thank Hydrom for their trust in our ability to deliver such a transformational project for Oman’s sustainability strategy and the global energy transition.”
Moataz Kandil, MENA President at Fortescue and James Mittell Director, Energy Infrastructure at Actis added, “Actis and Fortescue are in sync with our ambitions to decarbonise and create a new green energy industry globally. We share a common vision for the pivotal role that green hydrogen and green ammonia will play in forging a sustainable future. Oman not only has great natural resources, it is also one of the most attractive locations for low-cost green ammonia due to its land availability, port infrastructure and the regulatory support needed to allow this green industry to flourish. This strategic partnership between Hydrom, Actis and Fortescue will help to drive the development of a large-scale green hydrogen project in Oman. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Omani government and local community on this project.”
Hydrom was established in 2020 to masterplan the Sultanate’s green hydrogen sector and have awarded over 2,300km2 of land for large-scale green hydrogen production, from 50,000km2 that has been allocated to the company. Totalling more than $49 billion in investment commitments, the hydrogen strategy lead by Hydrom is a part of a broader energy strategy to deliver sustainable, secure and affordable energy to Oman and drive economic growth through industry localisation and diversification. With green hydrogen recognised as a key enabler of global decarbonisation, Hydrom is driving the race to enable Oman to achive its net zero commitment by 2050.
