The Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA) has begun construction of its solar-driven hydrogen plant at the 1 GW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, in the United Arab Emirates. The tender for the project was launched in mid November.
DEWA said the project will be the first solar-driven hydrogen electrolysis facility in the Middle East and North Africa region. The plant, being built with the support of German industrial conglomerate Siemens and Dubai Expo 2020, will be located at outdoor testing facilities in the Research and Development Center of the giant solar park.
DEWA said its project will be an exemplar of strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors, while also contributing to developing the green economy concept in the UAE and exploring the potential of green hydrogen technology.
“The hydrogen produced at the facility will be stored and deployed for re-electrification, transportation and other uses,” said DEWA chief executive Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer. Siemens counterpart Joe Käser said: “Siemens has pioneered this space globally, generating green hydrogen from renewable energy using proton exchange membrane electrolysis.”
The utility added: “Expo 2020 Dubai intends to showcase hydrogen mobility by powering a number of fuel-cell vehicles with the hydrogen generated at the facility.”
The Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park project – now on the verge of its phase V and hosting a pilot storage project based on NGK’s NAS batteries – is intended to be expanded to a 5 GW capacity. It currently incorporates two operational PV plants – a 13 MW Phase I and 200 MW Phase II – and two more sections which are under development or construction: an 800 MW PV facility and a 200 MW concentrating solar power plant.
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