The race towards net zero is accelerating globally, increasing the demand for clean and renewable energy sources. In this context, the hydrogen industry is gearing up for a major boom, opening up unprecedented opportunities to contribute to a more sustainable planet. Hydrogen, especially green hydrogen, is one of the fuels that have the ability to decarbonise various sectors.
Innovative Technologies
There are many pioneering innovations currently being developed in hydrogen technology, especially the electrolysis of water to produce green hydrogen, which some describe as the fuel of the future, using renewable energy. Additionally, advancements in hydrogen production from biomass and waste, as well as other new methods for generating hydrogen from natural gas with low carbon emissions, align with the global transformation in the energy sector and the increasing reliance on clean and renewable energy sources such as solar and hydroelectric energy.
Challenges facing hydrogen production
The major challenges facing today’s hydrogen production methods include cost competitiveness, as current hydrogen production, especially from renewable sources, is generally more expensive than traditional fossil fuel-based methods. Some hydrogen production technologies, such as advanced electrolysis or biomass pyrolysis, are still in the research and development stage, requiring further technological progress, as the scalability of these technologies is essential for large-scale commercial use.
According to recent internation reports, green hydrogen could be produced for $1.60 per kilogram by 2030, making it more competitive with current production methods, whose current cost ranges between $3 and $6.5 per kilogramme. In terms of storage, advanced technologies such as hydrogen liquefaction, salt cavern storage, and innovative solid hydrogen storage materials are being developed, ensuring efficient and reliable hydrogen storage. These developments are crucial to enabling widespread adoption of green hydrogen as an energy carrier. Numbers and forecasts underscore the growing importance of green hydrogen, with significant investments and technological advances driving its rapid development and deployment.
The Green Hydrogen project in Dubai
The Green Hydrogen project implemented by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the first project of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to produce hydrogen using solar power, and the hydrogen gas tank can store up to 12 hours of hydrogen produced from solar power. Since the launch of the Green Hydrogen project in May 2021, the facility has fully achieved its production goals, producing approximately 20 kilograms per hour of high-purity green hydrogen. The project, which produces green hydrogen primarily by electrolysis of water using renewable energy, will accommodate future applications and testing platforms for various uses of hydrogen, including energy production and mobility. This is in line with the roadmap for Hydrogen Strategy that will be implemented in phases.
The project supports the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. DEWA plays a leading role in realising this ambition through pioneering clean and renewable energy projects. The most notable of these is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, with a planned production capacity of 5,000MW by 2030. The solar park has total investments of AED 50 billion, and its current production capacity in 2,860MW. DEWA has won the Hydrogen Project of the Year 2023 Award for its green hydrogen project. This was part of the Hydrogen Future Awards 2023, organised during the ‘Connecting Green Hydrogen MENA’ (CGHM2023) conference in Dubai.