Port of Amsterdam and Oman take next step to develop liquid hydrogen corridor

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals of the Sultanate and Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom) have signed a Joint Study Agreement (JSA) with Port of Amsterdam, Zenith Energy Terminals and GasLog, to collaborate on the development of a liquid hydrogen route to market for green hydrogen produced in the Sultanate of Oman. The Agreement underscores the clear ambitions of the partners to make the world’s first commercial scale liquid hydrogen corridor a reality. The Agreement was signed at the Omani Pavilion during COP28 in Dubai, with His Excellency the Minister Eng. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi and the Climate Envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, as official witnesses during the ceremony.

The Agreement entails conducting a detailed assessment of the requirements to develop an open-access hydrogen liquefaction, storage and export facility in the Sultanate of Oman, along with the provision of specialised vessels for the transportation of the liquid hydrogen, currently under development by GasLog. The primary aim of the Agreement is to establish a green hydrogen corridor between the Sultanate of Oman and the Netherlands, with the terminal of Zenith Energy as the destination for the import, regasification and further distribution of Oman-produced hydrogen to both local offtakers within the port of Amsterdam, as well as large industries in the European hinterland. The open-access liquefaction facility will also enable the government of the Sultanate of Oman to explore cost effective hydrogen export corridors to other global markets.

Guided by Oman’s Vision 2040, which is anchored on diversifying its economy away from oil and gas, as well as the country’s long-term goal to reach Net-Zero by 2050, the government of the Sultanate of Oman has pursued a hydrogen strategy that seeks to capitalise on the country’s abundant (wind and sun) natural resources and existing port and industrial infrastructures. Moreover, its geographical location puts Oman in a prime position to supply the European and the Asian markets. Hydrom is orchestrating the overall development of the Omani hydrogen sector and is responsible for master-planning, managing the allocation of government lands to hydrogen developers and overseeing the execution of projects. The open-access facility for liquefaction would unlock great potential for these projects, offering liquid hydrogen as a viable vector that can be utilised by individual projects for export.

“As countries around the world race to achieve a hydrogen-based economy, the fundamental challenges of storing and transporting hydrogen on large scale remain open,” said Abdulaziz Al Shidhani, Managing Director of Hydrom. “Oman is building an economically sustainable future by establishing a fully integrated hydrogen ecosystem. This joining of efforts with the Port of Amsterdam, Zenith Energy Terminals and GasLog will help bring us one step closer to our shared goal.”

The strong potential of the Sultanate of Oman and the unique position of the Netherlands as a gateway to the European market, has led to an earlier agreement between the two nations. The MoU, which was signed during COP27, aims to advance the bilateral collaboration to support companies to establish import and export corridors, as well as to strengthen cooperation and investment opportunities within import and export facilities for clean and locally produced hydrogen. The Agreement signed at this year’s edition of COP therefore constitutes a new milestone in Omani-Dutch relations, where the Omani government, Hydrom, Port of Amsterdam, Zenith Energy Terminals and GasLog will work on the realisation of the envisioned import/export corridor.

Dorine Bosman, Chief Investment Officer at Port of Amsterdam, said, “Both Oman and the Netherlands are clearly in the vanguard in the development of the global hydrogen market. The complementarity between both nations offers a strong foundation for a fruitful collaboration, as evidenced by the MoU signed by both governments during COP27. We are proud that Port of Amsterdam, together with Zenith Energy Terminals and GasLog, can now, at this year’s edition of COP, take next steps towards the realisation of a liquid hydrogen corridor between the Sultanate and our port. Oman’s natural blessings and the passionate leadership of His Excellency Minister Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi on green hydrogen mean that the Omani Ministry of Energy and Minerals and Hydrom are fitting partners. We look forward to establishing the port of Amsterdam as the gateway for Omani-produced green hydrogen to the European market.”

Moving Green Hydrogen as a Liquid

Liquefying gaseous hydrogen, shipping of liquid hydrogen and regasification at the destination port is a mode of energy transportation successfully used by the LNG industry for decades. Leveraging the pioneering works undertaken by the ‘Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain Project’, which designed and built the Suiso Frontier, the world’s first liquid hydrogen vessel, the partners under this Agreement seek to develop an energy efficient and zero carbon emission, liquid hydrogen handling chain, which can safely, efficiently and cost effectively deliver commercial quantities of Oman’s green hydrogen to international markets well before 2030.