Many countries are looking to cooperate with Saudi Arabia on hydrogen production, energy transformation and emissions reduction projects.
The kingdom, the world’s largest oil exporter, plans to take a leading role in trading low-emission future fuels, with a number of ambitious plans announced, including the development of a multibillion-dollar hydrogen plant in NEOM.
In this context, a delegation from the Belgian-Luxembourgish mission visited the General Corporation for salt water desalination in Riyadh to discuss aspects of joint cooperation and ways to strengthen relations in the field of energy and the environment, especially hydrogen production.
Green projects
The Belgian delegation, currently visiting the kingdom, was headed by trade advisor at the embassy of the kingdom of Belgium, Adrien LaCroix, with the participation of 8 Belgian and Luxembourgish companies, and during their meeting with “desalination” officials discussed future cooperation in promising and green technologies such as hydrogen production, carbon emission reduction, and salt ore mining.
The International Renewable Energy Agency “Irena” predicts that hydrogen will cover up to 12% of global energy use by 2050, as many countries around the world seek carbon neutrality.
Irena placed Saudi Arabia in third place among the countries nominated to play a leading role in the hydrogen trade in the coming years, in conjunction with significant changes in the global energy market as dependence on oil and gas decreases.
The Belgian delegation was briefed on the achievements of “desalination” and its contributions to the development of the water industry in the world, as well as its continuous efforts to achieve strategic goals in reducing costs, raising efficiency, increasing productivity, achieving financial and environmental sustainability, enhancing competitiveness and ensuring the security of water supply.
Energy cooperation
The visit of the Belgian delegation aimed to review the opportunities of cooperation in the field of energy and environment, discuss current and future opportunities between the two sides, discuss projects and similar needs, in addition to knowing the investment opportunities of “desalination” and learn about its expertise and human technical and engineering capabilities.
The delegation was briefed on the economic trends aimed at enhancing competitiveness and increasing economic returns by investing in the products of the desalination industry and its innovative technologies, especially the “zero salt recovery” technique, under which minerals and salts such as (sodium chloride, bromine, magnesium, rubidium and lithium) are extracted.
The delegation was also briefed on the initiatives to reduce carbon emissions by maximizing the use of assets with modern environmentally friendly technologies, the displacement of liquid fuels, investment in renewable energy, in addition to the use of decarbonization techniques in which it cooperates with the national carbon circular economy program.
