- Emirates to lay out comprehensive approach to hydrogen economy as pilot shipments of hydrogen begin.
Australian-headquartered global engineering consultancy GHD has signed a contract to help develop a national hydrogen strategy for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the Emirates News Agency.
GHD will develop the strategy in partnership with German research organisation Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The strategy will inform the UAE’s policy decisions as it pursues dual strategies of decarbonisation and energy-mix diversification, the news report said.
Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, UAE’s minister of energy and infrastructure, said the UAE remains committed to capturing 25% of the world’s low-carbon hydrogen market and becoming a “world-leading authority on the role of hydrogen” in the global energy transition.
“GHD had initially collaborated with the [ministry] to assess the critical elements necessary to establish a hydrogen strategy in the UAE,” Al Mazrouei said. “GHD’s scope for developing and implementing the national hydrogen strategy is expected to set the direction for a hydrogen economy across the UAE.”
In order to create a “booming hydrogen-based economy”, the UAE will need infrastructure, technological capacity and market access, said Sharif Al Olama, under-secretary for the ministry of energy and infrastructure.
Bassam Halabi, GHD’s regional manager for the UAE, said the partnership with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft to develop the national strategy “presents a unique opportunity to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the UAE and Germany through contributions to the UAE’s net zero ambition.”
Earlier this month, Germany received the first pilot shipment of green hydrogen from the UAE into the port of Hamburg. The hydrogen arrived in ammonia form and will be used to trial the climate-neutral manufacturing of copper wiring.
GHD enjoyed solid financial results for FY21, driven in part by expansion into new markets. The firm established a presence in Singapore to support clients in south-east Asia and to deliver “a vast range of projects in the Pacific region,” according to a GHD release.
SOURCE: ea
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