A report issued by the Dubai Future Foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, entitled “Hydrogen from Imagination to Reality”, stressed the importance of preparing integrated future strategies in the UAE for the production, storage and use of hydrogen energy.
This will have a positive impact on increasing the production of clean and renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions in heavy industries, and supporting the transportation, aviation, shipping and other sectors that require a lot of energy.
The report reviewed the most prominent local, regional and global trends in energy production and consumption, the most important modern technologies that are developed and employed in the field of hydrogen production, enhancing its efficiency and sustainability of its diverse uses in various fields, and ways to encourage energy consumers to follow new ways that change their traditional view of energy.
The report also touched on the most promising potential provided by hydrogen gas as a sustainable source for energy production, its most important current and future applications, methods of production, storage and use, in addition to its positive effects on preserving the environment and reducing the risks of climate change in light of the noticeable increase in demand for hydrogen over the years. Last.
The outputs of the report were reviewed during a dialogue session hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation, in the presence of representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Climate Change, the Environment, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Dubai Future Foundation, Khalifa University and Siemens International.
- Suhail Al Mazrouei: The UAE is one of the leading countries in developing the renewable and clean energy sector.
His Excellency Suhail bin Muhammad Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, affirmed that the UAE is one of the pioneering countries in developing the renewable and clean energy sector, and the pioneers in innovating modern methods and methods to enhance the efficiency of the energy sector and find alternative solutions to traditional energy in a way that supports sustainable development, and to confirm that It launched the Emirates Energy Strategy 2050, which targets a mix of renewable and clean energy sources to ensure a balance between economic needs and environmental goals.
His Excellency said: “Hydrogen energy is one of the ways to achieve sustainable development in the UAE, in light of the possibility of producing it from available and traditional sources such as oil and gas or from renewable sources such as solar energy and wind, in addition to geothermal energy and organic sources. Hydrogen is one of the most competitive sources of fossil fuels in our region, at a cost of $1.5 per kilogram, adding: “The UAE has managed, during a record period, to expand in the field of clean energy thanks to legislation and laws that kept pace with current developments and future challenges, and set ambitious goals for the future.”
- Maryam Al Muhairi: The UAE is a global leader in employing hydrogen technologies as a source of clean energy.
For her part, Her Excellency Maryam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Muhairi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: “The deployment and use of clean energy solutions is one of the most important pillars of global climate action, as it contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions at an accelerating pace and enhancing access to climate neutrality,” noting that the development The technology has contributed to the creation of many clean energy sources, and the use of hydrogen is one of the most important innovative solutions in this field.
Her Excellency pointed out that the UAE, through its launch of specialized programs and projects for the production and use of green hydrogen, has become one of the world’s first countries in employing the technologies of this important and future source.
Saeed Al Tayer: Green hydrogen represents one of the pillars of a sustainable future.
His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, said: “Green hydrogen is one of the pillars of a sustainable future that depends on accelerating the transition to carbon neutrality to support the green economy.
The world today is witnessing an increasing interest in investing in clean and renewable energy sources, which will change the global energy landscape in the coming years, especially for countries looking to accelerate the pace of economic recovery in the wake of the emerging Corona Virus (Covid-19) pandemic, through a gradual shift from dependence From fossil fuels to environmentally friendly and relatively low-cost sources of energy, including hydrogen, which some call the fuel of the future.
He added: “Green hydrogen production is part of DEWA’s efforts to support the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75% of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.
The green hydrogen project, which was implemented in cooperation between DEWA, Expo 2020 Dubai and Siemens Energy, at the Authority’s Research and Development Center in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park , is the first project of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to produce green hydrogen using Solar energy, and the plant was designed and built to be able to accommodate future applications. This project contributes to paving the way for building a green economy based on clean energy sources.” – Khalfan Belhoul: Innovative energy production practices must be developed from alternative and sustainable sources.
Khalfan Juma Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, stressed the importance of anticipating the latest global trends in the energy sector and developing innovative energy production practices from alternative and sustainable sources, which would contribute to strengthening the UAE’s position and leadership in employing modern technology, especially in the field of clean energy generation and contributing to reducing emissions. carbon and climate change.
He pointed out that the launch of this report embodies the Corporation’s keenness to cooperate with all government and private agencies concerned with the energy sector in the UAE to shape the future of this sector, study its challenges and promising opportunities, keep pace with the rapid global changes, meet the increasing demand of various economic and industrial sectors for clean and sustainable energy, and adopt The latest global technologies in the production, storage and transmission of energy, and support for innovative ideas based on the use of technology in a way that contributes to supporting the main development areas and the correct planning of economic diversification strategies.
A promising sector.
The report pointed out the importance of the economic benefits of building a strong export market for locally produced hydrogen in the country, by following the strategy of developing the “produced and concentrated” export sector, which can contribute up to 32 billion dirhams annually to the GDP of the Emirate of Dubai by 2050, And to create more than 120,000 jobs over the next three decades, in addition to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 84 days annually from crude oil production in the UAE by 2050.
The future of alternative energy in the UAE.
The report touched on the efforts of the UAE to diversify energy sources during the next fifty years and to shift completely to sustainable sources such as nuclear, solar energy, hydrogen gas and other renewable energy resources.
Hydrogen is considered a suitable option for the energy production and storage sector in the UAE due to the reliability and stability standards that other renewable energy sources lack, as solar and wind energy sources, for example, are characterized by their intermittent nature.
The report stated that it is likely that the UAE, and specifically the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Energy Complex in Dubai, will be home to the first solar-powered green hydrogen project in the region, and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority actually started operating it in May 2021.
Other UAE initiatives include the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) plans to expand hydrogen production, and Mubadala plans to accelerate the recruitment of green hydrogen applications in Abu Dhabi in cooperation with Siemens.
Recommendations and suggested solutions.
The report, “Hydrogen from Fiction to Fact,” recommended a set of actions that federal and local government agencies could take by studying future use areas, including hydrogen-based green synthetic fuels, which would significantly reduce the environmental impact of road transport vehicles, aircraft and ships. Preliminary demonstrating the ability to overcome challenges, such as prototyping electrolytes/or electrolyzers/seawater to overcome the challenge of fresh water scarcity.
The report also called for studying the possibility of developing a pipeline network linking the Gulf Cooperation Council countries with Europe and East Asia to export hydrogen, and studying its economic feasibility, as the GCC countries have the ability to produce green, blue and yellow hydrogen (produced with nuclear energy) on a large scale, with a great ability to Exporting clean hydrogen to countries that lack the required resources.
The report stressed the importance of harmonizing the plans and strategies of government agencies in the UAE to manage and coordinate the production and supply of blue and green hydrogen, and effectively distribute resources at the national level, in addition to providing financial incentives to hydrogen producers, which contributes to accelerating the development of the future hydrogen economy in the country, supporting the research, development and innovation sector and facilitating Opportunities for cooperation between stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
Hydrogen uses.
The report classified the areas of hydrogen use into two main categories, where hydrogen is used to produce ammonia and methanol by the chemical synthesis process, and it is also used in oil refineries to reduce the sulfur content of fuel.
Fifty-five percent of global hydrogen production is used in the ammonia industry.
25% is in oil refineries, about 10% in methanol production, and the remaining 10% is for other uses.
One of the biggest uses of hydrogen today is oil refining, which is the process of converting crude oil into different products that suit user needs such as transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks. Hydrogen is used in hydrotreating that removes impurities such as sulfur from oil, and this use will increase in importance due to the emphasis on sulfur content laws.
Hydrogen production ratings.
The report reviewed the most prominent methods used in hydrogen production, and each method is indicated by a distinctive color that represents the production process. Most hydrogen today is produced by reformulating fossil fuels, a process that produces a reaction between natural gas and water vapor that produces “gray hydrogen.” This process may be associated with carbon capture, use and storage. The resulting carbon dioxide is captured and used or stored underground. The hydrogen produced by this method is called “blue hydrogen”. When hydrogen is produced by electrolysis using the energy of renewable sources, it is called “green hydrogen”.
“Yellow hydrogen” is called hydrogen extracted from water using electrolysis, similar to green hydrogen. The only difference between the two is the source of electricity used in electrolysis. Yellow hydrogen relies on nuclear energy rather than renewable energy sources.
