ADNOC to build Middle East’s first high-speed hydrogen refuelling station

Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Group is constructing the Middle East’s first high-speed hydrogen refuelling station.

The station, which is being built in Masdar City by ADNOC, will create clean hydrogen from water, using an electrolyser powered by clean grid electricity.

Hydrogen, which creates no carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions when used, has the highest energy per mass of any fuel and can give vehicles a longer driving range and quicker refuelling times compared with battery electric vehicles.

ADNOC is partnering with Toyota and Al-Futtaim Motors to test the high-speed hydrogen refuelling station using a fleet of clean hydrogen-powered vehicles. Toyota and Al Futtaim Motors will provide a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles as part of the partnership.

We’ve teamed up with Toyota and Al-Futtaim Motors to test hydrogen technology that, in the near future, could significantly reduce emissions of transportation sectors both in the UAE and around the world. pic.twitter.com/v4buyIO3kb

— ADNOC Group (@ADNOCGroup) July 18, 2023

The Abu Dhabi-based energy major said the pilot programme will highlight how hydrogen with high-speed refuelling can best be used in mobility projects to support the UAE’s National Hydrogen Strategy, which aims to position the country among the largest producers of hydrogen by 2031. 

“ADNOC is placing sustainability and decarbonisation at the heart of its strategy and, while we decarbonise our operations today, we are making robust investments to be a supplier of choice for the clean energies of tomorrow,” said Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC managing director and group CEO.

“Hydrogen will be a critical fuel for the energy transition, helping to decarbonise economies at scale, and it is a natural extension of our core business. Through this pilot programme, we will gather important data on how hydrogen transportation technology performs as we continue to develop the UAE’s hydrogen infrastructure.”

ADNOC Distribution will operate the station upon its completion later this year. A second station, in Dubai Golf City, will be fitted with a conventional hydrogen fueling system.

Hydrogen investments

Meanwhile, the construction of ADNOC’s high-speed hydrogen refuelling station comes weeks after the UAE approved its national hydrogen strategy that seeks to increase the country’s investments in hydrogen – which has emerged as one of the most important types of clean energy.

The strategy seeks to accelerate the growth of the hydrogen economy and enhance the global position of the UAE among the world’s largest producers of low-carbon hydrogen. The UAE plans to invest around $54.5bn (Dhs200bn) as part of its updated national energy strategy that is aimed at tripling the contribution of renewable energy over the next seven years.

Similarly, ADNOC will invest Dhs55bn to advance and accelerate lower-carbon solutions, investing in new energies and decarbonization technologies to reduce its carbon intensity by 25 per cent by 2030 and enable its Net Zero by 2050 ambition.

Globally, many countries have ambitious plans for green hydrogen, but GCC states have unique advantages that could allow them to lead the transition to hydrogen.

Read: UAE updates energy strategy, to invest $54.5bn in renewables