Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy has signed eight memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with a number of organizations to implement pilot projects for hydrogen fuel cell-based vehicles, transportation applications, and sustainable jet fuel production in selected areas throughout the Kingdom.
In a statement on this occasion, Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman underlined the interest of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman in the energy sector and his desire to develop and utilize the Kingdom’s varied energy resources.
Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Minister of Energy Saudi Arabia
“This step is taken simultaneously with drafting the hydrogen strategy, which arises from the integrated energy strategy that lays out the objectives, roadmap, and implementation timeline. It also reflects the constant support of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman to all the energy sectors. I have to acknowledge the significant role the Crown Prince is undertaking to empower the energy sector with his continuous follow-up and immense support at all levels and through his leadership of the supreme energy committees. I must also commend the cooperation and integration we see between partners in these various memoranda.”
“This synergy is a real booster to our endeavors to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030 objective of diversifying the Kingdom’s energy sources, and becoming a global leader in all areas of energy, as it has been in the oil industry for over 80 years,” the Saudi Minister added.
According to the statement, hydrogen-fueled transportation projects and applications that are based on the technology of hydrogen fuel cells are to be carried out as per the signed MoUs. These include cars, buses, trains, as well as maritime transportation.
The projects will take place in several different locations throughout the Kingdom, such as NEOM, the Red Sea, Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University, Makkah, Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu, and airport runways. In some of these areas, hydrogen production and filling stations will be built to supply hydrogen fuel to these projects.
Furthermore, these projects will be implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Energy, sponsors, and several global companies that provide the technologies for these applications in order to establish a complete conceptual understanding of hydrogen fuel-based transportation applications.
“The MoUs cover applications of hydrogen in the transportation sector, performance tests of hydrogen fuel cell-based vehicles and buses, efforts to acquire commercial and technical expertise, analysis of the lessons learned from experiments in using hydrogen as a fuel in transportation means, to expand the implementation scope in the future, and raising public awareness of hydrogen applications in the Kingdom,” as per the statement.
