Saudi Arabia to produce hydrogen as its alternative fuel

Saudi Arabia is all set to become the world's largest supplier of hydrogen. The kingdom is the world's largest oil exporter. The Saudi Minister for Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman revealed in a G20 briefing in Riyadh of the kingdom's strategy to find an alternative fuel to limit climate variation.

Amongst many countries that work to achieve carbon neutrality, Saudi Arabia hopes to maintain its role as a major supplier of energy. The kingdom foresees production of hydrogen from solar power in 2025 at its factory in Neom, a futuristic city being built on the Red Sea, at the cost of $5 billion. Meanwhile, the Kingdom's electricity comprehensive reforms are targeted to enhance competitiveness between all renewable energy projects.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) compared green hydrogen costs between 3.50 euros and 5.00 euros per kilogram to brown hydrogen cost about 1.5 euros. While the cost of producing blue hydrogen lies between these two.

"We have commissioned a team to put together our national strategy on how we evolve with hydrogen," Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman stated. "I guarantee you a few months from now, you will see an expose of what we will do with hydrogen and what will be our national ambitions and how we can still continue to maintain the lead in this ambition."

According to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, hydrogen can be generated from a variety of domestic resources such as natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind. However, hydrogen is expensive and difficult to transport as it needs a lot of energy for production.