Saudi Acwa Power signs hydrogen agreement with Italian partners

LONDON (ICIS)–The Saudi-listed Acwa Power developer and investor in power generation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Italian energy major Eni and five other Italian companies to bolster cooperation in renewable hydrogen, as well as water desalination.

The agreement was reached on the sidelines of the Saudi-Italian Investment Forum held in Milan on 4 September.

Under the terms of the MoU, Eni and ACWA Power will cooperate in renewable hydrogen research and development of sustainable technologies.

Other companies ACWA Power has signed agreements with include the Chamber of Commerce Confindustria, utility and waste management firm A2A, industrial solutions provider Industrie De Nora, specialty additives manufacturer Italmatch Chemicals, and classification and engineering solutions provider RINA.

A2A and ACWA Power will assess the potential for renewable hydrogen projects in their areas of mutual interest, and renewable hydrogen imports in Italy. RINA and ACWA Power will investigate the potential use of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives in sea-borne shipping.

ACWA Power and Industrie de Nora will cooperate on electrochemistry and sustainability technologies and will investigate possible partnerships in the operations and maintenance of renewable hydrogen applications.

According to ACWA Power, bilateral trade between Italy and Saudi Arabia currently stands at around $11bn.

A joint study released in June by Alfry and Rina showed that renewable hydrogen from the Gulf could reach Europe through a pipeline beginning in Qatar, via Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Saudi Arabia is among the list of Middle Eastern countries that have previously expressed their interest in exporting hydrogen in the coming years. Oman and the United Arab Emirates are also possible hydrogen exporters.

According to an announcement in June last year, Saudi petroleum refinery Aramco planned to produce 11m tonnes/year of blue ammonia by 2030 — produced from about 2m tonnes of low carbon hydrogen, which is produced from fossil gas with carbon capture, utilisation, or storage (CCUS).

These volumes could potentially aid Italy, in the long run, should supply agreements be reached.

Italian hydrogen demand is set to reach 85.TWh/year by 2050 as Europe moves closer to its decarbonisation targets. Of this, only 7TWh will be met through internal production and alternative supply sources, leaving a hydrogen supply shortfall of 79TWh/year in place, data from ICIS showed.