Green hydrogen will help drive economic diversification, creating opportunities to develop and grow talent from KSA and beyond, while applying industry-leading technology to kickstart a worldwide hydrogen economy
NEOM Green Hydrogen Company
NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) is building the world’s largest green hydrogen plant in Oxagon, NEOM
Carbon emissions have been rising unchecked for the last 80 years, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, they have increased 90 percent since 1970.
At the same time, we are adding approximately 80 million people to the planet every year. That’s roughly the combined population of the GCC countries.
These two facts should alarm you because they present the most significant challenge humanity has ever faced. How can we reduce carbon emissions within a short timeframe to meet essential Net Zero targets while providing enough energy to support a rapidly increasing global population?
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Fossil fuel dependence is still widespread, providing around 80 percent of the world’s energy. However, in the quest for a viable, clean alternative to fossil fuels that can be quickly scaled, transported, and has ready technology, green hydrogen represents the best solution to a clean energy future – and the MENA region has a clear roadmap to deliver it.
Green hydrogen, the world’s cleanest fuel, is produced by water electrolysis using only renewable energy sources, like solar and wind. When green hydrogen undergoes combustion, it emits nothing but water vapour, making it carbon-free with zero emissions. It can also be efficiently stored, supplying energy during peak demand or low renewable energy generation. This storage capability makes green hydrogen a vital component of a reliable and resilient clean energy system.
The region already possesses significant advantages for enabling world-scale green hydrogen production, with proven project development capabilitie, available land and abundant access to wind and solar resources. Through national strategies, regulations, as well as a commitment to invest in wind and solar PV plants, electrolysers, pipelines, storage systems with complimentary education and training programmes, the wider region is very well positioned to scale up green hydrogen production and assume global leadership in this market.
The demand for clean, renewable energy has never been greater and is expected to continue to increase in the coming years. By 2050, global green hydrogen demand is anticipated to exceed 530 million tonnes, equivalent to around 7 percent of global primary energy consumption. This would displace 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent annually, approximately 37 percent of current global oil production.
We have a unique opportunity to embrace this potential and become one of the driving forces in developing a more sustainabe world – and projects to realise this vision are already well underway.
NEOM’s ambitious green hydrogen venture
One of these pioneering projects is currently being constructed in Saudi Arabia, where NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) is building the world’s largest green hydrogen plant in Oxagon, NEOM. NGHC will integrate up to 4GW of solar and wind energy to produce as much as 600 tonnes per day of carbon-free hydrogen as green ammonia for export to the global market under a long-term supply agreement with Air Products. NEOM Green Hydrogen Company also anticipates additional investments as both international and domestic demand increases.
NGHC’s project is delivering on the ambitions of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative. Both emphasise the importance of sustainable development, environmental preservation, and economic diversification, and green hydrogen fully aligns with these objectives.
Green hydrogen will help drive economic diversification, creating opprtunities to develop and grow talent from KSA and beyond, while applying industry-leading technology to kickstart a worldwide hydrogen economy. Running in tandem, the Saudi Green Initiative aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix to 50 percent by 2030, and green hydrogen will be the cornerstone of this objective.
Meanwhile, the UAE already has 28 hydrogen projects in development and recently announced its National Hydrogen Strategy, with a target of capturing 25 percent of the market.
Just as the MENA region has dominated the oil and gas markets, it’s now on track to be the leading force in green hydrogen – a market worth as much as $1 trillion annually by 2050.
Many years ago, people in the fossil fuel industry would joke, “Hydrogen is the fuel of the future… and it always will be.” But the future doesn’t just happen, you have to make it happen, and here in the MENA region, we are doing just that.
We are now set to become a green hydrogen powerhose that can dominate the clean energy market and change the world for the better.
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