Titled Medium to Long Term development of Hydrogen Mobility in the UAE, the study demonstrates that H2 mobility in the UAE has a substantial potential to develop into a major economy for the country, and can contribute to the achievement of its clean energy goals, in line with the UAE’s Vision 2021.
It reiterates the UAE’s commitment to diversifying the energy sources, and calls for the pivotal collaboration of the various public and private players for a successful deployment of H2 mobility.
It also demonstrates the requirement for an initial focus on fleet vehicles, such as buses, trucks and taxis, which would generate enough H2 need for an optimised production scale.
Source: Khalifa University
The use of local sources of H2 in addition to excess H2 produced in various industries, such as refining, can also contribute to very competitive costs of H2 for commercialisation.
H2 as a transportation fuel has gained momentum globally for its emission-free property and its ease of use. The deployment of H2-powered vehicles is already in progress and expanding in the US, Europe, Japan and Korea, and is now being introduced in the UAE.
As a leading research-based institution in the region focused on providing cutting edge technologies in clean energy and sustainability, Khalifa University, through Masdar Institute, remains committed to obtaining solutions for carbon mitigation and climate change especially through innovations in CO2 capture, biofuel, waste-to-energy, energy storage, desalination and solar power.
Air Liquide and Al-Futtaim Motors inaugurated the Middle East’s first H2 station in Dubai in October 2017 to support the deployment of the FCEVs in the UAE. Once deployed on a larger scale, this technology has the potential to significantly reduce the UAE’s dependence on oil and lower car-generated pollution levels.