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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Nation holds strong potential for green hydrogen

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His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, in his address to the Council of Ministers recently, has held up before the nation a vision of the Sultanate of Oman becoming a leading producer and exporter of green hydrogen. It will help not only in decarbonising the planet, but also leads to optimal utilisation of abundant solar energy resources in the country.


His Majesty the Sultan has also directed the government to set up a directorate of clean and hydrogen energy under the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, and a company to develop this sector.


So, what is green hydrogen and what are its types and uses?


Hydrogen fuel that is created using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. It has the potential to provide clean power for manufacturing, transportation, and more — and its only byproduct is water.


Electrical engineer Abdullah al Saeedi said that hydrogen is divided into blue, green and gray according to the production methods. Hydrogen produced from renewable energy is called green.


“The use of hydrogen has recently emerged as a clean source of energy as it is produced by electrolysis to separate oxygen atoms from hydrogen and is reused in hydrogen fuel cells. It is also produced from natural gas by separating hydrogen,” Al Saeedi said.


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But why this sudden buzz about green hydrogen?


Al Saeedi, who is also interested in smart cities, artificial intelligence and sustainability, said there are two reasons. Firstly, low price of solar power makes its cost effective for producing green hydrogen. Secondly, green hydrogen is increasingly used in transport operations for trains, trucks and ships as it is a clean fuel without carbon. Hydrogen is easy to store, which allows it to be used subsequently for other purposes and at times other than immediately after its production.


Unlike batteries that are unable to store large quantities of electricity for extended periods of time, hydrogen can be produced from excess renewable energy and stored in large amounts for a long time. And a particular advantage of green hydrogen is that it can be produced wherever there is water and electricity to generate more electricity or heat.


Hydrogen has many uses. Green hydrogen can be used in industry and can be stored in existing gas pipelines to power household appliances. It can transport renewable energy when converted into a carrier such as ammonia, a zero-carbon fuel for shipping, for example.


Hydrogen can also be used with fuel cells to power anything that uses electricity, such as electric vehicles and electronic devices. And unlike batteries, hydrogen fuel cells don’t need to be recharged and won’t run down, so long as they have hydrogen fuel.


"The process of producing green hydrogen requires the availability of water and electricity produced from renewable energy. Therefore, it needs a large safe infrastructure and a strategic location. This is available specifically in Duqm and this gives the Sultanate of Oman a great advantage," Al Saeedi said.


Despite all the advantages of hydrogen, it is difficult to use as it is highly flammable because it is light. There are other challenges like transport of hydrogen and cost. But over time research and development across the world will overcome those challenges. Many nations have committed huge investments to develop green hydrogen as fuel of the future.


US President Joe Biden has promised to use renewable energy to produce green hydrogen that costs less than natural gas. The US Department of Energy is putting up to $100 million into the research and development of hydrogen and fuel cells.


A McKinsey study estimated that by 2030, the US hydrogen economy could generate $140 billion and support 700,000 jobs.


The European Union will invest $430 billion in green hydrogen by 2030 to help achieve the goals of its Green Deal. And Chile, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Australia are all making major investments into green hydrogen.


In December, the UN launched the Green Hydrogen Catapult Initiative, bringing together seven of the biggest global green hydrogen project developers with the goal of cutting the cost of green hydrogen to below $2 per kilogramme and increasing the production of green hydrogen 50-fold by 2027.


@zainabalnassri


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