Friday 27 / December / 2024
Muscat: An international consortium comprised of OQ, which is Oman’s global integrated energy company, InterContinental Energy, the leading dedicated green fuels developer, and EnerTech, a Kuwait government-backed clean energy investor and developer, announced it is developing an integrated green fuels mega project in Oman.
The consortium has been collaborating on the project for more than three years, which will consist of 25 gigawatts (GW) of renewable solar and wind energy at full capacity to produce millions of tons of zero-carbon green hydrogen per annum. The hydrogen can be used locally, exported directly, or converted into green ammonia for international export. The consortium partners will leverage their broad existing commercial relationships and partnerships to secure long-term product sales agreements.
Given the site’s strategic location between Europe and Asia, as well as excellent solar irradiance and wind resource facing the Arabian Sea, the development is well-positioned to offer a secure and reliable supply of green fuels globally at a highly competitive price.
Green hydrogen is expected to grow into a US$2.5 trillion market by 2050.
Demand comes from the shipping sector, which requires green ammonia for its significant decarbonisation needs, the aviation sector, which will utilise synthetic fuels made from green hydrogen, parts of the ground transportation sector, such as rail and trucking, which are expected to adopt green hydrogen as a fuel source, as well as heavy industry located in areas such as North-West Europe that will use green hydrogen to fuel their industrial processes including the production of steel. In addition, power companies across East Asia with a legacy reliance on coal and gas are planning to transition to green ammonia to reduce their carbon emissions.
The consortium has been conducting wind and solar monitoring analysis in Al Wusta Governorate in Central Oman since 2019. Renewable power generation will benefit from very high and stable levels of solar and wind energy, exhibiting the optimal diurnal profile of strong wind at night and reliable sun during the day. The project is also located near the coast for seawater intake and electrolysis. Existing energy infrastructure in Oman provides additional future options to develop synthetic fuels for the aviation sector, which will be critical for decarbonisation.
The project will help transform Oman’s skills base and technical expertise in renewable energy, providing a significant number of high-value jobs during site construction and operation. Given the amount of equipment required at a project of this scale, it could also support the development of Oman’s renewable energy supply chain manufacturing and expertise.
Salim Al Huthaili, CEO of Alternative Energy at OQ said, “OQ is proud to announce our biggest project in this field, which aims to maximise utilisation of Oman’s natural resources of wind and solar to produce green hydrogen. Alternative energy is a key driver for OQ’s long-term growth and a cornerstone of its strategy. It is also in line with the country’s ambitious Oman Vision 2040 that aims to diversify the nation’s resources and maximise the financial value derived. We are pleased with the progress of the project so far and look forward to continuing development in collaboration with our partners.”
Alicia Eastman, Co-Founder and President of InterContinental Energy said, “This is a huge milestone in our mission to deliver cost-competitive zero-carbon fuels at an unprecedented scale to meet rapidly growing global demand across sectors. Only by decarbonising fuels as well as electrons will the world reach Paris climate agreement targets and increasingly stringent commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It has been an absolute pleasure working with our wonderful partners, each of whom brings critical domain expertise to the consortium.”
Abdullah Al Mutairi, CEO of EnerTech said, “This is a landmark project that is in line with our objective of being the leading platform for clean energy and energy transition in Kuwait and the broader GCC. Our model of converging technology with infrastructure investment will place us at the forefront of decarbonisation to realise our national objectives and meet our commitments under the Paris Agreement.”
