MUSCAT, Oman, 29 April 2024: Electricité de France S.A. and its subsidiary EDF Renewables (EDF Group), Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-Power) and Yamna Co Ltd (Yamna) announced that they were awarded a land block by Hydrogen Oman SPC (Hydrom), a state-owned company and leader of the Omani hydrogen vision. Making the announcement through a Press release, the consortium announced that spanning over 341 square kilometres, this land block located in the Governorate of Dhofar will allow the development of a large-scale green ammonia project with a capacity of one million tons per year. 

The consortium said that leveraging Oman’s excellent renewable energy resources, it intends to install approximately 4.5 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity coupled with battery storage and approximately 2.5 gigawatts of state-of-the-art electrolyser. The consortium further said the hydrogen produced would then be supplied to an ammonia plant to be built in the Salalah Free Zone. 

The consortium said it signed a project development agreement and sub-usufruct agreement with Hydrom, granting it the exclusive right to develop, build, own, operate and maintain the project for 47 years.

The consortium said the project agreement was signed by H. E. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals and Chairman of Hydrom; Luc Koechlin, CEO Middle East, EDF Group; Olivier Bordes, CEO Middle East, EDF Renewables; Michihide Kita, Director General, International Business Development Department; J-Power; and Abdelaziz Yatribi, CEO, Yamna. The consortium said this signing closes the Hydrom Phase A Round 2 competitive green hydrogen tender procedure launched by Hydrom in June 2023, and enshrines the award of the land block to the consortium, for the development of the Project.  Furthermore, the consortium said, the award materialises the successful partnership between its members. The consortium added that once commercially operational, the project will make Oman home to one of the world’s largest green hydrogen and derivatives plants. 

H.E. Al Aufi said: “Oman is strategically located between two key green hydrogen demand centres in Europe and Asia. In addition, 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 EDF Group, J-Power and Yamna on their awarding and look forward to working together to realise our collective vision.”

Beatrice Buffon, Chairwoman and CEO, EDF Renewables and Vice President in charge of the International Division, EDF Group, said “EDF Group and its subsidiary EDF Renewables are proud to be awarded, alongside their partners in the Hydrom project. This achievement demonstrates Oman’s trust in our decarbonisation solutions. With its hydrogen plan, EDF is supporting the energy transition of the sectors which emit the most CO₂. Hydrogen fuels a future where sustainability meets innovation. This is why we are not just generating power, we are paving the way for cleaner, greener, and more innovative energy solutions for the generations to come”. 

Hiroyasu Sugiyama, Executive Vice President, J-Power, said: “We are honoured by this great opportunity to participate in the project and to collaborate with Omani stakeholders as well as our partners. Considering the development of renewable energies and renewable-based hydrogen, the project is in line with our strategy, Blue Mission 2050, to accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality. It will contribute to both Oman and global net-zero-emissions goals.”

Yatribi said: “We are excited to embark on this journey with our partners, with a target to deliver a transformational flagship project for Oman and the global hydrogen industry. We are eager to significantly contribute to the success of this project by leveraging on our expertise of green hydrogen and ammonia and our experience in Oman.”

The consortium said green hydrogen and its derivatives are crucial for Oman’s energy transition and sustainability strategy, as the government aims to raise renewable energy-based hydrogen production to at least one million tons per annum by 2030, as part of the Oman National Energy Strategy 2040.

The consortium said it would continue the development of the project by conducting detailed studies with a view to swiftly deliver this transformational project for Oman and the energy transition.