Solar-Driven Green Hydrogen Plant Commissioned in MbRAM Solar Park in Dubai

A solar-driven Green Hydrogen project has been inaugurated at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MbRAM) Solar Park in Dubai.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Chairman of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee, recently inaugurated a Green Hydrogen project at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MbRAM) Solar Park in Dubai. 

The project, implemented in collaboration with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Expo 2020 Dubai, and Siemens Energy, is the first solar-driven green hydrogen-producing facility in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

“Through this pilot project, DEWA aims to demonstrate the production of green hydrogen from solar power, its storage, and re-electrification. This is a system that allows for buffering renewable energy production, both for fast response applications, as well as for long-term storage. The plant has been built to accommodate future applications and test platforms for the different uses of hydrogen, including potential mobility and industrial uses,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA.

He further added that the 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.

Al Tayer said that 2021 has witnessed important developments in the hydrogen sector. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum recently approved a UAE system for hydrogen fuel-powered vehicles, which aims to develop the Green Hydrogen economy in the UAE, open local markets to hydrogen-powered vehicles and encourage an increase in environment-friendly vehicles. The system is the cornerstone for encouraging the use and licensing of vehicles, facilities and equipment related to hydrogen fuel and will contribute to achieving sustainable growth that balances the environmental, economic and social aspects. 

This project to produce hydrogen using solar power also supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to provide 75 percent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050 as well as the Dubai Green Mobility 2030 initiative, which aims to stimulate the use of sustainable transport.

“This landmark Green Hydrogen Project highlights the importance of partnership in driving forward innovative new clean energy solutions and tackling the existential threat from global climate change. As the first industrial-scale facility to produce green hydrogen in the Middle East and North Africa, it is an important milestone of the energy transformation. We look forward to working together to decarbonize industries that are hard to abate with renewable energy alone,” said Dr. Christian Bruch, President and CEO of Siemens Energy.