‘Fuel of the future’: Gulf countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, bet on ‘green’ hydrogen

‘Fuel of the future’: Gulf countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, bet on ‘green’ hydrogen

DUBAI: After riding an oil and gas boom for decades, Gulf states are eyeing "green" hydrogen as they try to transition their economies to non-oil based revenue sources and ease the climate crisis with one stroke.

Oil producers Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman are investing heavily in the climate-friendly fuel in a search for alternative revenues to crude and gas.

Green hydrogen, which is the hydrogen created when renewable energy electrolyses water, appears to solve many problems: it is low-polluting and has widespread potential uses, which could make it lucrative and planet-saving at the same time.

But the fuel, which currently makes up less than one percent of total hydrogen production, is not yet commercially viable and needs a major scaling-up of renewable energy sources - a process that could take years.

A handout picture provided by Saudi Arabia's NEOM on July 26, 2022 shows the design plan for the 500-metre tall parallel structures, known collectively as The Line, in the heart of the projected Red Sea megacity NEOM. Image Credit: AFP PHOTO / NEOM

Despite this, Gulf nations sense an opportunity to remain major players in energy markets as oil revenues fall.

Most hydrogen is produced from polluting fossil fuels, but green