Actis-Fortescue consortium awarded rights to develop green hydrogen project in Oman

At a signing ceremony in Muscat, Hydrogen Oman SPC (Hydrom), an independent entity founded by the Omani government to orchestrate and deliver the nation’s green hydrogen strategy, announced the consortium was a winning bidder in the second round of a green hydrogen tender process. This provides Actis and Fortescue with exclusive rights to a high quality site, allocated to the development of a future project.

The project, which is currently in feasibility stage, is expected to involve construction of up to c.4.5 GW of wind and solar renewable energy resources that will power electrolysers with the potential to produce up to 200 000 tpy of green hydrogen. Under the current plan, this is expected to be sold to local industrial offtakers as well as processed into derivatives (such as green ammonia) for export via the existing port of Salalah.

HE Eng Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals and Chairman of Hydrom, said: “Oman is strategically located between two key green hydrogen demand centres in Europe and Asia. This, in addition to, our tier-1 infrastructure and logistics capabilities have enabled us to leverage our first mover advantage in the global hydrogen industry. The availability of renewable natural resources in Oman coupled with the country’s favourable geopolitical positioning, investor-friendly policies and progressive energy transition strategies make it one of the most suitable countries for green hydrogen production. I would like to congratulate Actis and Fortescue on their awarding and look forward to working together to realise our collective vision.”

Fortescue and Actis are both major players in the green energy space globally. Actis has an extensive track record developing renewable power projects, with c.21 GW of renewable energy capacity (16 GW operational, 5 GW under construction or contracted) managed by the firm to date. While, Fortescue is a global leader and innovator in the green hydrogen industry with a pipeline of projects globally, including three which have reached Final Investment Decisions.

Fortescue and Actis both believe a successful green hydrogen sector is a prerequisite for a successful transition away from fossil fuels and towards the decarbonisation of many hard-to-abate sectors.

This successful bid award represents an exciting milestone in Actis’ hydrogen journey. The project itself is a compelling investment opportunity to develop a major green hydrogen project, to be underwritten by strong demand for offtake, a stable and supportive regulatory environment and a prime strategic location – Oman has first rate solar and wind resources, and an ideal location from which to export green hydrogen derivatives to major demand centres in Europe and Asia.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalhydrogenreview.com/hydrogen/30042024/actis-fortescue-consortium-awarded-rights-to-develop-green-hydrogen-project-in-oman/