Saudi green hydrogen megaplant: 600 tonnes a day
Saudi Arabia is building a megaplant producing 600 tonnes of green hydrogen a day. Real efficiency, desalination and the emissions-trading business.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Saudi Arabia bets on green hydrogen: 600 tonnes a day
Can the world's biggest oil exporter also become the leader in green hydrogen? Saudi Arabia has just completed construction of a megaplant that, according to project sources, will start producing 600 tonnes of hydrogen a day next year — more than several of today's largest facilities combined. The move is part of the Saudi strategy to dominate the hydrogen economy from day one.
The figure, however, hides an enormous problem: the thermodynamic cost. Producing hydrogen by electrolysis requires electrolyzers with platinum and iridium, and real efficiency (EROI) is at best around 40% under ideal conditions. In Arabia, there is also no fresh water: it has to be desalinated and purified, which can cut output down to 15%. Some argue the real business is not hydrogen but the CO2 emissions-trading market: producing "green" to keep selling oil, trading cards so everything stays the same.
The project also plans to produce 1.2 million tonnes of ammonia a year, a derivative some see as the future of shipping. Others point out that ammonia has inefficiencies of its own. And there is no shortage of those who, wryly, compare the initiative with other megapromises of the desert, like that linear city of giant mirrors.
Hydrogen, like everything in energy, is a question of numbers. The Saudis have put theirs on the table: 600 tonnes a day. Whether thermodynamics agrees is another story.
Can the world's biggest oil exporter also become the leader in green hydrogen? Saudi Arabia has just completed construction of a megaplant that, according to project sources, will start producing 600 tonnes of hydrogen a day next year — more than several of today's largest facilities combined. The move is part of the Saudi strategy to dominate the hydrogen economy from day one.
The figure, however, hides an enormous problem: the thermodynamic cost. Producing hydrogen by electrolysis requires electrolyzers with platinum and iridium, and real efficiency (EROI) is at best around 40% under ideal conditions. In Arabia, there is also no fresh water: it has to be desalinated and purified, which can cut output down to 15%. Some argue the real business is not hydrogen but the CO2 emissions-trading market: producing "green" to keep selling oil, trading cards so everything stays the same.
The project also plans to produce 1.2 million tonnes of ammonia a year, a derivative some see as the future of shipping. Others point out that ammonia has inefficiencies of its own. And there is no shortage of those who, wryly, compare the initiative with other megapromises of the desert, like that linear city of giant mirrors.
Hydrogen, like everything in energy, is a question of numbers. The Saudis have put theirs on the table: 600 tonnes a day. Whether thermodynamics agrees is another story.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (12 replies).
More summaries
-
Italian Firm Claims Green Hydrogen at €1/kg Despite Physics Violations
Sedes H promises cheap green hydrogen without pressure or cold, backed by Masons and Rothschild ties but lacking scientific verification.
-
China launches first steel plant powered entirely by green hydrogen
China has activated the first steelmaking plant running solely on green hydrogen, cutting the process from 6 hours to 6 seconds, a leap that worries the European industry.
-
A 50 m2 flat in Madrid's Vallecas for a million: the housing market satirized
A 50 m2 flat in Móstoles or Vallecas for a million euros: satire of real estate speculation in Madrid, Spain, as the housing crisis deepens.
-
Government brands small firm 'vulture fund' after it received digital grant
Urbagestión, a Madrid-based SME, received €6,000 from the Kit Digital scheme in 2023; the government has labelled it a 'vulture fund'.
-
Spain's 'adults only' boom spreads to housing: why?
From hotels to rental flats: the adults-only trend is spreading. Business freedom or discrimination against families? An economic analysis of the hostility…
-
UBS report shows the middle class is shrinking worldwide
The UBS report reveals that median wealth is falling in Spain, the US, Germany and the UK while average wealth rises. The Cantillon effect and housing are key to the…