UAE can produce 1 mil mt/year of hydrogen from nuclear units at full capacity

The UAE can produce around 1 million mt/year of hydrogen from nuclear power once all its four units are operational, the CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. said Jan. 12, as OPEC's third biggest producer seeks to become a major producer of clean hydrogen.

The UAE, the only Gulf country producing nuclear energy for power generation, is currently operating two out of four units at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the country's western region. Each plant has a capacity of 1.4 GW. The plants will supply up to 25% of the UAE's power needs once all four units are operational.

"To stay ahead of the curve, ENEC is looking at further applications of nuclear technologies beyond the generation, including hydrogen as a clean fuel of the future," Mohamed al-Hammadi told the virtual 12th UAE Energy Forum organized by Dubai-based Gulf Intelligence. "Barakah's 4 units have the potential to generate around 1 million tons of hydrogen per year."

Hydrogen is a key plank of the UAE's efforts to be a net zero emitter by 2050, the first country in the Middle East to make such a pledge.

Hydrogen market leader

The UAE is targeting a 25% global market share of low-carbon hydrogen by 2030 with the launch of its "hydrogen leadership roadmap" at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2021.

Barakah-1 reached 100% of capacity in December 2020, after being connected to the power grid in August 2020, while Barakah-2 was connected to the grid Sept. 14, following its startup in August, and has been undergoing testing while raising power levels, according to ENEC. Units 3 and 4 are yet to become operational.

ENEC, which is in charge of the UAE's nuclear power plants, has also signed an agreement with Électricité de France to invest in research and development of low-carbon hydrogen.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. is among the UAE's energy companies accelerating the development of blue and green hydrogen projects in the country.

Expanded Masdar

ADNOC is joining two other partners to combine their renewables and green hydrogen operations into clean energy firm Masdar, with plans to boost capacity from 23 GW to "well over" 50 GW by 2030. ADNOC will be the largest shareholder of Masdar's green hydrogen business at 43%, followed by 33% held by sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and 24% by energy firm Taqa.

The expanded Masdar is intended to lead the nation's drive to net zero by 2050, all three companies said in a Dec. 1 statement. The 50 GW of renewables capacity by 2030 would make Masdar the largest player in the Middle East and North Africa, Taqa Chairman Mohamed Alsuwaidi said.

Masdar and France's Engie plan to invest $5 billion to develop 2 GW of renewable and hydrogen projects by 2030, the Abu Dhabi government's media office said on Twitter Dec. 3.