<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>After riding a fossil-fuel boom for decades, Gulf Arab states are eyeing "green" hydrogen as they try to transition their economies and ease the climate crisis at a stro</b>ke.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite this, the Gulf monarchies sense an opportunity to remain major players in energy markets as oil revenues fall.</div><div><br></div><div>"Gulf states aim to lead the global hydrogen market," said Karim Elgendy, associate fellow at Britain's Chatham House think tank.</div><div><br></div><div>"They see green hydrogen as critical to remain major energy powers, allowing them to continue their influence as fossil fuel demand declines."</div><div><br></div><div>Most hydrogen is produced from polluting fossil fuels, but green hydrogen is extracted from water using renewable energy such as wind, solar and hydropower.</div><div><br></div><div>While fossil fuels create harmful greenhouse gases when they burn, hydrogen emits only water vapour. It is touted for potential use in high-polluting industries such as transport, shipping and steel.</div><div>- 'Export leaders' -</div><div><br></div><div>Wielding its massive investment capital, oil-rich Saudi Arabia is constructing the world's largest green hydrogen plant at NEOM, the $500 billion futuristic megacity being built on the Red Sea.</div><div><br></div><div>The $8.4-billion plant will integrate solar and wind energy to produce up to 600 tonnes of green hydrogen a day by the end of 2026, officials say.</div><div><br></div><div>In July the UAE, which will host the United Nations' COP28 climate conference this year, approved a hydrogen strategy that aims to make it one of the top 10 producers by 2031.</div><div><br></div><div>"Hydrogen will be a critical fuel for the energy transition," said Hanan Balalaa, a senior official at the UAE's oil firm ADNOC, calling it a "natural extension" for the company.</div><div><br></div><div>"We believe hydrogen and its carrier fuels have great potential as new, low carbon fuels, that the UAE is well placed to capitalise" on, Balalaa told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>But it is Oman, which lags Saudi Arabia and the UAE in fossil fuel production, that looks poised to lead the Gulf's clean hydrogen race.</div><div><br></div><div>The sultanate is on track to become the sixth-largest exporter globally and the biggest in the Middle East by the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency said in a June report.</div><div><br></div><div>Oman aims to produce at least one million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030, and up to 8.5 million tonnes by 2050, "which would be greater than total hydrogen demand in Europe today", the IEA said.</div><div><br></div><div>According to auditing firm Deloitte, Middle Eastern countries, primarily the Gulf, will lead global clean hydrogen trade in the short-term, exporting around half of their domestic production by 2030.</div><div><br></div><div>By 2050, North Africa and Australia are projected to have the greatest potential, although Gulf states will remain "export leaders", the company said in a June report.</div><div><br></div><div>- Hope or hype? -</div><div><br></div><div>The investment in green hydrogen has not curbed expansion in oil and gas, with both the UAE and Saudi Arabia planning to grow their hydrocarbon industries.</div><div><br></div><div>Experts predict it could still take years before Gulf countries can produce green hydrogen at a cost competitive with fossil fuel-based alternatives.</div><div><br></div><div>While the cost of renewable energy has fallen due to technological advances, green hydrogen cannot yet be produced at a profit.</div><div><br></div><div>"Gulf countries will focus on maximising the sales of hydrocarbons as long as possible," said Aisha al-Sarihi, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute.</div><div><br></div><div>"It will take years of trial and error for green hydrogen to become a commercially traded commodity," the expert said, adding that it "can be the new fuel of the future" once the technology matures and costs fall.</div><div><br></div><div>Demand for hydrogen also remains unclear.</div><div><br></div><div>But Gulf states are long-time energy suppliers of import-dependent Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea that plan to incorporate it in their decarbonisation plans.</div><div><br></div><div>Abdullah al-Nuaimi, the UAE's former climate change minister, cautioned, however, that "the existing infrastructure for transporting hydrogen is not adequate and would require massive investment to modify".</div><div><br></div><div>"The time required to overcome and solve the challenges facing hydrogen is too long," he told.&nbsp; - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>