Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is expanding strategic partnerships with German companies across the hydrogen value chain as demand for the clean fuel picks up amid efforts by governments to lower emissions.
The company signed a new preliminary agreement and Joint Study Agreements (JSA) with counterparts in Germany to accelerate and deepen collaboration in clean hydrogen, it said in a statement on Monday.
“At Adnoc, we have ambitious growth plans for clean hydrogen, a critical tool in efforts to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, which we are actively delivering on to meet demand in Asia, and through today’s partnerships, [in] Europe as well,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc's managing director and group chief executive.
“We remain committed to working with like-minded partners across the public and private sectors to implement tangible projects that will supply the world’s energy needs, while reducing carbon emissions and the carbon intensity of the energy that supports our everyday lives.”
The new agreements were signed during the visit of Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck to the UAE. They build upon the long-standing Emirati-German Energy Partnership as well as the Ministerial Emirati-German Hydrogen Task Force that was inaugurated in November 2021.
“The accelerated scale-up of hydrogen supply chains is key for our transition to sustainable energy and for achieving the decarbonisation goals in line with our commitments under the Paris Agreement,” Mr Habeck said.
The German government’s National Hydrogen Strategy predicts demand for clean hydrogen could reach up to three million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by 2030, of which about 60 per cent is expected to be imported. Demand may grow to more than 11 Mtpa by 2050.
Adnoc plans to significantly grow its clean hydrogen production and is continuing to focus on developing its footprint in fast-growing export markets in Asia, such as Japan and South Korea.
Both Adnoc and Fertiglobe, a joint venture with Netherlands' OCI, have already sold several low-carbon ammonia pilot cargos for potential use in a wide range of industrial applications. The Abu Dhabi company is expected to further expand its footprint and provide up to 25 per cent of Germany’s imported clean hydrogen.
Individual agreements with German companies including Aurubis, RWE, Getec and Steag to explore opportunities for collaboration in low-carbon and renewable hydrogen derivatives were also signed during the visit, the statement said.
Adnoc also entered into a JSA with Uniper and Hydrogenious of Germany and Jera to explore hydrogen transport between the UAE and Germany using Hydrogenious’s liquid organic hydrogen carrier technology, it said on Monday.
The company also signed a preliminary agreement with HHLA, a Hamburg-based logistics and transport company, and AD Ports Group, to help Hamburg realise its ambition of becoming a hydrogen import hub in Germany.
The UAE is drawing up a comprehensive road map to position itself as an exporter of hydrogen and tap into its future potential.
The Gulf country aims to capture about 25 per cent of the global hydrogen market share and is in discussions with many countries to export it, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei said earlier this year.
The UAE also signed a preliminary agreement with Austria this month to boost collaboration in the hydrogen technology industry.
