UAE to establish first regional waste-to-hydrogen project

02 / 06 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

The UAE seeks to establish the region’s first waste-to-hydrogen project within the framework of its commitment to zero-waste cities and clean energy solutions.

Bee’ah, the Middle East’s sustainability pioneer, today announced that it will be pursuing plans for accomplishing this project which includes a green hydrogen generation plant and a hydrogen vehicle fuelling station, in collaboration with UK-based Chinook Sciences.

The Waste-to-Hydrogen project is an evolution of Bee’ah and Chinook Sciences’ $180 million waste gasification to energy project and addresses the increased market demand in the region for new sources of renewable energy such as green hydrogen.

During a visit by Chinook Sciences Chairman and CEO Dr. Rifat Chalabi, the evolution of the plans to a waste-to-hydrogen project was agreed during a signing ceremony in the presence of Salim Al Owais, Chairman of Bee’ah, and a delegation of senior officials from both entities. The project is envisioned to be the first of many such facilities, established through the long-standing collaboration between Bee’ah and Chinook Sciences.

With an innovative approach of having the waste-to-hydrogen plant adjacent to the fuelling station, this project will overcome the challenges of costly transportation of hydrogen. The fuelling station will use green hydrogen generated from the waste-to-hydrogen plant from non-recyclable plastic waste and waste wood. The green hydrogen will be fed into the fuelling station to power hydrogen vehicles.

Salim Bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of Bee’ah, said: “Green hydrogen will be a vital pillar of our future energy landscape and Bee’ah has been looking into this market for some time now with Chinook in alignment with our long-term strategy to develop new, sustainable energy solutions. As a sustainability leader, Bee’ah is keen to further support the UAE in its hydrogen economy ambitions, energy diversification and decarbonization efforts.”

Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee’ah, which is operational in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, said: “As a waste management leader in the Middle East, we are proud to pursue the first waste-to-hydrogen solution in the region. This project will showcase the potential of waste-to-hydrogen. Bee’ah has always recognized the value of energy recovery from waste and through this new project, we aim to support a circular economy across multiple fronts throughout the region.”

Dr. Rifat Chalabi, Chairman and CEO of Chinook Sciences, a leading industrial, renewable fuel and environmental technology company, said: “We are very excited to use Chinook Sciences’ patented RODECS gasification and pyrolysis technology in the UAE, which breaks down hydrocarbons from waste through advanced thermal treatment to release and recover green hydrogen. When the green hydrogen is used in vehicles, it emits only water and no carbon emissions.”

“Through the use of Chinook’s RODECS technology, the cost of green hydrogen from the plant shall be very competitive and has the potential to be equal to or even less than the cost of diesel and gasoline. At maximum production capacity, the plant shall be capable of fuelling 1,000 hydrogen-powered large vehicles per day,” added Dr. Chalabi.