The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) has released specification standards for hydrogen-fueled vehicles in accordance with Oman Vision 2040’s energy goals and recent royal directives by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to expand the green hydrogen sector in the Sultanate of Oman. These performance standards have to do with safety standards that lessen the effects of accidents.
The creation of this standard, according to Nadia bint Mohammed al Siyabiyah, Director of the Specifications Department, MoCIIP, is a part of the government’s initiatives to promote and support sustainable clean energy.
The requirements are based on the worldwide guidelines for hydrogen-powered cars that the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations released after consulting with the main industrialized nations.
According to Al Siyabiyah, a hydrogen vehicle has three fundamental systems: a fuel cell system, a system for supplying and storing hydrogen, and a system for electric propulsion.
His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik had instructed the government to advance the development of the hydrogen industry in Oman during a cabinet meeting held in March. It will aid in the creation of the regulatory and legal framework, as well as more thorough rules, necessary to enable the expansion of green hydrogen in Oman.
His Majesty the Sultan issued a set of directives that kept pace with developments in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions and, given the variety of ways that green hydrogen is used to generate electricity, supply energy to nearby industries, and fuel public transportation, with options for export to foreign markets.
In order to increase foreign investment and localize these technologies, His Majesty the Sultan had called for a consistent follow-up of global developments in green hydrogen technologies, the acceleration of steps to regulate this sector, the creation of legal frameworks for it, the formulation of policies for its expansion, and the allocation of suitable sites for its production.
Additionally, His Majesty the Sultan issued instructions for the completion of essential research, the establishment of a corporation for the growth of this profitable industry, and the establishment of a new clean energy and hydrogen power directorate under the Ministry of Energy and Minerals.
Oman Shell and Oman Airports signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during Oman Sustainability Week in March, under which Oman Shell will provide up to 15 hydrogen cars to Oman Airports for corporate use. The project will involve the creation of hydrogen manufacturing facilities that will be deployed at various project-related fuelling facilities and run on photovoltaic solar electricity. In order to maximize project advantages and give the public access to the technology, these stations will be carefully chosen.
