Siemens Energy, in collaboration with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Expo 2020 Dubai, has inaugurated the first industrial scale, solar-driven green hydrogen facility in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The Plant is Located at DEWA’s Outdoor Testing Facility of the Research and Development (R&D) Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.
The integrated facility was developed with electrolysis, storage, and re-electrification capabilities, to maximize the benefits of the pilot project.
Daylight solar power from the solar park will enable the pilot project to produce around 20.5kg/hr of hydrogen at 1.25MWe of peak power. Operational data from the green hydrogen electrolysis will be displayed at Expo 2020.
The plant was inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, and Chairman of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee.
Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai; His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA); Dr. Christian Bruch, President and CEO of Siemens Energy, and officials from the public and private sectors were present.
The plant has been built to accommodate future applications and test platforms for the different uses of hydrogen, including potential mobility and industrial uses. DEWA has already explored and developed a pilot project for green mobility using hydrogen that can be executed in the near future, in addition to a number of studies, business strategies and a potential roadmap for hydrogen usage, said His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.
Power for the Green Hydrogen Project will be provided by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which will generate 5,000 megawatts of clean energy by 2030 as the largest single-site solar park in the world.
Hydrogen can be used for re-electrification through gas motors, gas turbines and fuel cells. It can also be used as a feedstock for the chemical industry (e.g. ammonia, syn-fuels, green-chemicals, etc.), as fuel for transportation, a reducing agent for the steel industry, as heat for industrial processes, gas for residential heating and cooking purposes, or energy for export.
Against the background of low costs of electricity for solar PV and wind power in the region, hydrogen has the potential to be a key fuel in the energy mix of the future and could open up energy export opportunities for those areas with access to abundant renewable energies, statement said.
