H2 Industries to develop $1.4bn waste-to-hydrogen plant in Oman

The 200,000-square-metre centre will initially convert up to 1 million tonnes of municipal solid waste each year

The plant will allow Oman to develop an effective waste management system. Getty

Oman’s Public Establishment for Industrial Estates, known as Madayn, has joined forces with the American company H2 Industries to establish a $1.4 billion waste-to-hydrogen plant in the Gulf country.

The centre will be built on a 200,000-square-metre coastal site.

Once the project is completed, the annual production of hydrogen and carbon dioxide generated from the waste will have an export value of more than $268 million, comprising 67,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and 1 million tonnes of CO2, H2 Industries said in statement on Friday.

Hydrogen is projected to account for 12 per cent of global energy use and 10 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions reductions by 2050, driven by climate change urgency and countries’ commitments to net zero, the International Renewable Energy Agency says. It comes in various forms, including blue, green and grey hydrogen. Blue and grey are derived from natural gas while green is produced using renewable sources.

The proposed plant in Oman will initially convert up to 1 million tonnes of municipal solid waste each year sourced from waste management operators and mined from landfill sites. It will have the capacity to expand to manage up to 4 million tonnes of waste, the statement said.

The project will include the construction of a 300-megawatt baseload-capable photovoltaic solar installation that will include 70MW of electrical storage.

“This is an exciting opportunity and one that will take the tonnes of waste that collects in Oman and turn it into green hydrogen,” said Michael Stusch, executive chairman of H2 Industries.

“The $1.4bn investment into Oman will make a substantial contribution to the country’s waste management strategy and demonstrates how fighting climate change and enhancing environmental protection can go hand in hand and benefit all stakeholders.”

Once the pre-development and permitting phase is completed, the plant will start producing hydrogen in about 30 months.

The green hydrogen produced could be sold or H2 Industries could create low-cost synthetic diesel (eDiesel) or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with the captured carbon dioxide, which would be the only emission in the process.

H2 Industries, a global hydrogen generation and energy storage solutions company based in New York, was founded by Mr Stusch in 2010 and operates in nearly 11 countries.

It specialises in developing technology that generates, stores and helps to transport green hydrogen using liquid organic hydrogen carriers.

Municipal solid waste management is a challenging issue for Oman. The country produces about 1.9 million tonnes of solid waste each year, with the per capita waste generation at more than 1.5 kilogram per day, H2 Industries said.

Although the primary function of the plant is to produce green energy without environmentally harmful emissions, it also offers additional benefits to the region. The project will allow Oman to develop an effective waste management system, creating employment and delivering other socio-economic benefits, H2 Industries said.

This year, Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone gave H2 Industries preliminary approval for a $3bn waste-to-hydrogen plant. At the northern entrance of the Suez Canal, it aims to produce 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year.