A war-torn, developing country with a powerful oil industry wants to make a radical turnaround. They’ve just discovered the renewable fuel that everyone is looking for, and they’ve had it under their feet for centuries. Find out how they intend to revolutionize their economy and reach zero emissions… before we do?
This country used to be one of the largest oil producers, but now they want to launch themselves into the “most renewable fuel”
The renewable hydrogen initiative, as a part of the source diversification plan, is being led by Iraq, the long-standing major OPEC member and oil producing nation. Iraq’s government has made transition away from oil reliance and diversify Iraqi energy setting their aim as such.
This is complemented by the consummate downfall in prices of renewable energy such as wind and sun related power which has really given green hydrogen the boost that is much needed economically to gain its foothold in the industry.
The government of Iraq has been among the earliest countries to put green hydrogen development underthought through policy incentives and production guidelines. Iraq has an adequate solar resource that is estimated to receive approximately 7 hours of its peak power on average a day.
A country has zones that are good for wind abundance hence can be used for the construction of wind farms. The country seeks to leverage green hydrogen production technology like solar and wind power to electrolysis which can help them stamp their leadership in the same industry.
Iraq’s proposal to find hydrogen: its subsoil is richer than we thought
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil last week outlined plans for green hydrogen production which will be the nation’s very first plant. This episode is being built on the south of the oil region and will be made in the state-run Midland Refineries Company that is operating an oil refinery.
In the initial stage, the power capacity is expected to be around 50 megawatts only but plans to scale it to gigawatt levels are intended in the future. The timeline of the project has this facility opening by the year 2025.
Building and operation phase will be done through a tie-up between French TotalEnergies, a company specialized in hydrogen from renewable resources, and Qi Card, an Iraqi cultural financial company providing funding and logistical support.
This business will transfer its knowledge to the best technique of hydrogen extraction from the water with the aid of concentrated renewable electricity. The Qi Card is the instrument that will make transactions and contracts possible.
A look at Iraq’s energy industry: how to move from oil to hydrogen?
The distinctive location of the country combined with the available abundant renewable resource power and also the ability to export them to the expected market put Iraq on the global map as one of the major producers of green hydrogen.
Quite a number of Iraq’s regions also come with an advantage of powering wind energy due to the fact that they have sufficient wind gradients for wind power generation.
Besides, the immense deserts, which could be modified to serve large-scale solar and wind farms, Iraq can derive heaps of clean hydrogen from these renewable electricity sources.
Iraq will most likely to have stable and low energy needs within the country so most of green hydrogen can be exported to areas nearby that more energy-hungry. Iraq’s vicinity to the prospective export waterways in Europe, Asia and the Middle East makes it an ideal contender among green hydrogen producers located in a more distant part of the world.
The discovery of hydrogen in Iraq is a clear signal to surrounding countries: Will they have deposits of this renewable fuel that will surpass the size of their oil fields? Perhaps this is the key to diversifying their economies, something that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have been trying to do for years.
