ACME Group weighs innovative tech to ship Omani hydrogen to Europe
Boding well for Oman’s efforts to secure safe and cost-competitive modes for the transportation of green hydrogen to overseas markets, India-based ACME Group — which is developing a large-scale green hydrogen project in Oman — has joined hands with prominent German firm Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies to explore the feasibility of utilising the latter’s proprietary knowhow to ship Omani hydrogen to Europe.
Erlangen-headquartered Hydrogenious is credited with pioneering the Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology for the bulk transportation of green hydrogen at ambient pressure and temperature while using existing liquid fuel infrastructure.
The technology allows for hydrogen molecules to safely bind together with thermal oil benzyl toluene as a carrier medium. At the offtake-end, the hydrogen is released in a process known as dehydrogenation.
If found to be viable as a vector for the economical transportation of green hydrogen to international markets, the LOHC option will enjoy a significant edge over other technologies currently being explored by producers to get their green molecules to distant markets.
For ACME Group, the MOU with Hydrogenious represents a further milestone in its bid to set up a green hydrogen project in Oman, spearheaded by its whollyowned subsidiary Green Hydrogen and Chemicals Company SAOC (GHC).
Phase 1 of the project, planned for development in the Duqm SEZ, is slated to be operational by 2027. Total plant capacity is envisaged at 900,000 tonnes per annum, to be developed over multiple phases.
As part of the MOU, ACME Group and Hydrogenious will collaborate on a feasibility study to explore the joint development of large-scale hydrogen supply chains from ACME’S Oman project to supply hubs in Europe using the innovative LOHC technology.
Transported in combination with LOHC, the green molecules can be distributed to industrial clusters around Europe by train, barge, tanker and truck, thereby contributing to the decarbonisation of key sections of the economy.
Besides being safe for handling at ports and urban environments, the LOHC medium is also billed as non-explosive and with a hazardous component similar to diesel. Furthermore, there are no hydrogen losses during storage or transportation, making this technology far more advantageous than other comparable alternatives.
The LOHC medium, once stripped of its green molecules during the dehydrogenation process, can be reused numerous times or recycled as well, according to Hydrogenious.
In a statement, following the signing of the MOU, Ashwani Dudeja, Group President and Director for ACME Group, commented: “Green Hydrogen is emerging as a real opportunity that can transform the global energy systems and meet the decarbonisation goals of industry and governments.
“While some will continue to challenge the economic and technical feasibility, we have taken conclusive decisions on our Oman project and partnering with Hydrogenious to develop efficient logistics using LOHC is the next step in delivering cost effective value proposition for our customers.”
Significantly, ACME Group and Hydrogenious also intend to extend the partnership to evaluate the hydrogen value chain from the United States to Europe.
Last December, in a similar effort to establish a liquid hydrogen corridor to European markets, Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals, together with Hydrom — the orchestrator of Oman’s green hydrogen industry — signed a Joint Study Agreement (JSA) with Port of Amsterdam of the Netherlands, Zenith Energy Terminals (a leading international energy and chemicals storage player) and Gaslog (specialist in LNG logistics), to collaborate on the development of a liquid hydrogen route for the supply of green hydrogen to Europe.