Oman accelerates green hydrogen technology localisation
Hydrom, the architect of Oman's green hydrogen sector, has reported significant progress in the localisation of technology and manufacturing capacity linked to the vast volumes of solar panels, wind turbines, electrolysers and other essential hardware needed to meet the country's ambitious green hydrogen targets.
A number of green hydrogen projects currently in early development across Al Wusta and Dhofar governorates are expected to commence operations by around 2030, contributing to Oman's goal of producing 1 million tonnes of low-carbon molecules annually by that time.
Achieving this target will require approximately 40 million solar panels and up to 3,000 wind turbines — equipment that will nearly triple the country's current grid capacity, according to Eng Abdulaziz Al Shidhani, Managing Director of Hydrom.
'To reach our 2030 targets, we're proactively enabling this expansion by laying the necessary groundwork now. With project contracts signed for up to 47 years, the momentum is clear and investors are taking note,' Al Shidhani said in an interview with The Energy Year, a UK-based energy news platform.
The official also emphasised that technology localisation is central to Hydrom's strategy. 'We've signed MoUs with electrolyser manufacturers, including Siemens Energy and ThyssenKrupp Nucera. These partnerships support our industrial ambitions, including polysilicon production and the local manufacturing of solar panels and wind turbines. Suhar is set to host solar panel production, while Al Duqm will see wind turbine assembly'.
Over the past year, Suhar has attracted over a billion dollars in new Chinese-led investments in large-scale solar panel and module manufacturing facilities, aimed primarily at serving domestic and regional markets. Additionally, United Solar Polysilicon (FZC) SPC, an international green energy company, is making rapid progress on a $1.6 billion polysilicon plant with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per annum, located in Suhar Industrial City.
Alongside its efforts to build a robust green hydrogen production sector, Hydrom is actively supporting the development of supply chains and a broader ecosystem around the green molecule.
As part of this drive, Hydrom hosted a Green Hydrogen Ecosystem Readiness Lab last September, bringing together 58 government entities. 'We identified 26 strategic initiatives grouped into five core areas: logistics and infrastructure readiness, regulatory streamlining, technology localisation, workforce capacity building and domestic market development. These initiatives are being actively tracked and managed through our green hydrogen acceleration dashboard, gH2ad, which ensures transparency, promotes accountability and keeps all stakeholders aligned towards shared goals', Al Shidhani explained. (gH2ad refers to green hydrogen, ammonia and derivatives — including green ammonia, green methanol, synthetic fuels (e-fuels) and LOHCs or liquid organic hydrogen carriers).
Hydrom is also working closely with free zone authorities to allocate suitable plots for investments in downstream green hydrogen conversion and other value-added industries.
'We coordinate closely with free zone authorities to align policy and infrastructure. For instance, Vulcan Green Steel and others are planning green steel projects that will rely on hydrogen supply chains originating from outside the free zones', he said.
Meanwhile, preparations are underway to manage the massive volumes of hardware that the green hydrogen sector will require — most of which will be imported in the early years — and ensure its seamless transport to designated sites. The Port of Duqm, which previously handled the arrival of wind turbines for Dhofar's first wind farm in 2019, will continue to serve as a gateway for such equipment.
'We've assigned ASYAD to lead logistics, focusing on three key initiatives: conducting a readiness assessment, implementing a control-tower approach to manage scheduling from port to site and coordinating with ongoing oil and gas activities. We are piloting our plan with the recently signed 100-MW PDO Riyah-1 and Riyah-2 wind farm projects in Al Duqm, allowing us to learn and adapt as needed', Al Shidhani added.
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