Can Saudi Arabia become the world’s biggest hydrogen producer?

Can Saudi Arabia become the world’s biggest hydrogen producer?

On the northwestern shores of Saudi Arabia, plans are under way for a multibillion-dollar hydrogen plant as the world’s biggest oil exporter bets on becoming the biggest producer of the clean energy source.

If the new plant meets its daily production target of 650 tonnes of environmentally friendly ‘green’ hydrogen, it will become the world’s largest. Large scale construction of the plant has not yet started at the site of the planned city of Neom on the Red Sea coast. Production would begin in 2026, an official told the Financial Times.

The Saudi plan to dominate hydrogen production is part of its attempt to diversify its oil and gas reliant economy and create jobs. With about 60 per cent, or $149bn, of the Saudi budget in 2021 derived from oil, the kingdom needs to diversify income sources as world demand for fossil fuels shifts.

“We see ourselves involved seriously in hydrogen and we want to size up that market. We know for sure that we will be the most competitive producer,” said Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the country’s energy minister, at a technology conference earlier this month.

But with Russia and the UAE among the many countries also angling for a share of the