Hydrom, Oman’s green hydrogen orchestrator, has announced the signing of two green hydrogen projects in Dhofar, totaling a $11 billion investment. These agreements follow the successful second round of Hydrom auctions, positioning Oman to achieve a hydrogen production capacity of 1 to 1.5 million tons per year (mtpa) by 2030.
“Oman is strategically located between two key green hydrogen demand centers in Europe and Asia. This, in addition to, our tier-1 infrastructure and logistics capabilities have enabled us to leverage our first mover advantage in the global hydrogen industry,” stated Eng. Salim Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals and Chairman of Hydrom during the signing ceremony.
The first agreement was signed with a consortium consisting of Electricité de France S.A. and its subsidiary EDF Renewables (EDF Group), Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-POWER) and YamnaCo Ltd (Yamna). The second agreement was signed with Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, and Fortescue, a global integrated green energy, metals and technology company.
“The rapid pace at which Oman is advancing its green hydrogen sector is remarkable, moving from land identification to international auctions and signing agreements in just two years, and we are proud to be leading it,” said Eng. Abdulaziz Said Al Shidhani, Managing Director of Hydrom.
“Today, we are marking yet another milestone in this journey by awarding two projects to our new partners. Together with the first wave of green hydrogen projects announced, Oman is taking a confident step forward towards achieving its ambitious goal to produce 1 to 1.5 million tons per annum of green hydrogen by 2030,” He added.
The project with EDF Group, J-POWER and Yamna will aim to produce approximately 178,000 tpa of green hydrogen by 2030, using approximately 4.5 GW of wind and solar energy coupled with battery storage and an approximately 2.5 GW state-of-art electrolyser. The produced hydrogen will be supplied to an ammonia plant to be built in the Salalah Free Zone and set to produce 1 mtpa of green ammonia.
The project with Actis and Fortescue will involve construction of up to 4.5GW of wind and solar renewable energy resources that will power electrolyzers with the potential to produce up to 200,000 tons of green hydrogen per year. This will then be sold to local industrial offtakers, as well as processed into derivatives (such as green ammonia) for export via the Port of Salalah.
The new hydrogen signings cover a 682 km2 area of land in total where average wind speeds range from 6.8m/s to 8.3m/s and solar irradiance levels of 2410 w/m2.
By leveraging the latest advancements in green hydrogen technology, the projects will harness shared resources and expertise to facilitate a sustainable and localized green hydrogen economy for Oman.
Hydrom was established in 2020 to masterplan Oman’s green hydrogen sector and have awarded over 2,300km2 of land for large-scale green hydrogen production, from 50,000km2 that has been allocated to the company. Totalling more than $49 billion in investment commitments, the hydrogen strategy lead by Hydrom is a part of a broader energy strategy to deliver sustainable, secure and affordable energy to Oman and drive economic growth through industry localization and diversification. With green hydrogen recognized as a key enabler of global decarbonization, Hydrom is driving the race to enable Oman to achieve its net zero commitment by 2050.