據海灣新聞網2023年8月17日迪拜報道，在經歷了幾十年的石油和天然氣繁榮之后，海灣國家時下正瞄準“綠色”氫氣，試圖將經濟轉型為非石油收入來源，并一舉緩解氣候危機。

石油生產國沙特阿拉伯、阿拉伯聯合酋長國和阿曼正在大力投資這種對氣候友好的燃料，以尋找替代原油和天然氣的收入來源。

綠色氫氣，即可再生能源電解水產生的氫氣，似乎解決了許多問題：它污染低，具有廣泛的潛在用途，這可能使它既有利可圖，同時又能保護地球。

但是這種燃料目前只占全球氫氣總產量的不到1%，還不具備商業可行性，需要大規模擴大可再生能源的使用——這一過程可能需要數年時間。

盡管如此，由于石油收入的下降，海灣國家仍有機會在能源市場上扮演主要角色。

現今大多數氫氣是由污染嚴重的化石燃料產生的，但綠色氫氣是利用風能、太陽能和水電等可再生能源從水中提取的。

化石燃料燃燒時會產生有害的溫室氣體，而氫氣只會釋放水蒸氣。它被吹捧為運輸、航運和鋼鐵等高污染行業的潛在用途。 

“出口領導者”

沙特阿拉伯利用其龐大的投資資本，正在紅海上建造世界上最大的綠色氫氣廠NEOM，這也是一座耗資5000億美元的新型未來巨型城市的命名。

官員們表示，到2026年底前，這座耗資84億美元的綠色氫氣廠將整合太陽能和風能，每天生產多達600噸的綠色氫氣。

今年將主辦聯合國COP28氣候大會的阿聯酋在7月份批準了一項氫氣戰略，旨在到2031年前使其成為全球十大綠色氫氣生產國之一。

“氫氣將成為能源轉型的關鍵燃料?！卑⒙撉醢⒉荚葒沂凸荆ˋDNOC）的高級官員哈南·巴拉拉表示，并稱這是ADNOC的“自然擴張”。  

巴拉拉告訴法新社：“我們相信氫氣及其載體燃料作為新型低碳燃料具有巨大潛力，阿聯酋完全可以利用這一潛力。”

但阿曼似乎已經準備好引領海灣地區的清潔氫氣競賽。

國際能源署(IEA)在6月份的一份報告中稱，到本十年結束前，阿曼有望成為全球第六大原油出口國。

IEA表示，阿曼的目標是到2030年前每年至少生產100萬噸綠色氫氣，到2050年前每年生產850萬噸綠色氫氣，“這將超過歐洲目前的氫氣總需求量”。

據德勤會計師事務所稱，中東國家，主要是海灣國家，將在短期內引領全球清潔氫氣貿易，到2030年前出口他們約一半的國內產量。

德勤會計師事務所在6月份的一份報告中表示，盡管海灣國家仍將是“出口領導者”，但北非和澳大利亞預計屆時將擁有最大的潛力。

希望或炒作? 

專家預測，海灣國家可能還需要數年時間才能生產出與化石燃料替代品相比成本具有競爭力的綠色氫氣。

雖然由于技術進步，可再生能源的成本已經下降，但綠色氫氣的生產還不能盈利。

新加坡國立大學中東研究所研究員艾莎·薩里希表示：“海灣國家將盡可能長時間地專注于最大化碳氫化合物的銷售。”

這位專家說：“綠色氫氣要成為一種商業交易商品，還需要多年的試驗和失敗。”他補充說，一旦技術成熟，成本下降，綠色氫氣“可能成為未來的新燃料”。

目前全球對氫氣的需求依然不明朗。但海灣國家是日本和韓國等依賴能源進口的亞洲國家的長期能源供應國，這些亞洲國家計劃將海灣國家納入自己的脫碳計劃。

然而，阿聯酋前氣候變化部長阿卜杜拉·努埃米警告稱，“海灣國家現有的氫氣運輸基礎設施不足，將需要大量投資才能進行改造”。 

李峻 譯自 海灣新聞網

原文如下：

'Fuel of the future': Gulf countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, bet on 'green' hydrogen

DUBAI: After riding an oil and gas boom for decades, Gulf states are eyeing "green" hydrogen as they try to transition their economies to non-oil based revenue sources and ease the climate crisis with one stroke.

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.Ads by 

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.

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.

Despite this, Gulf nations sense an opportunity to remain major players in energy markets as oil revenues fall.

Most hydrogen is produced from polluting fossil fuels, but green hydrogen is extracted from water using renewable energy such as wind, solar and hydropower.

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.

'Export leaders'

Wielding its massive investment capital, Saudi Arabia is constructing the world's largest green hydrogen plant at NEOM, the $500 billion futuristic megacity being built on the Red Sea.

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.

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.

"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.

"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.

But it is Oman that looks poised to lead the Gulf's clean hydrogen race.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hope or hype?

Experts predict it could still take years before Gulf countries can produce green hydrogen at a cost competitive with fossil fuel-based alternatives.

While the cost of renewable energy has fallen due to technological advances, green hydrogen cannot yet be produced at a profit.

"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.

"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.

Demand for hydrogen also remains unclear.

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.

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".