Energy Ministry launches strategy to produce green hydrogen

AMMAN — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has embarked on a strategy to enable Jordan, technically and legislatively, to produce green hydrogen from solar and wind energy, Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh said on Monday.

During his speech at the opening of a scientific workshop on green hydrogen, delivered on his behalf by the ministry’s Secretary General Amani Azzam, Kharabsheh said that the Kingdom enjoys abundant renewable energy resources due to its location on the solar belt and the availability of sufficient wind speed to produce electricity in many locations.

During the event, organised by the National University College of Technology in cooperation with MENA-Fuels, the minister also referred to the “great expertise and competencies” that enable greater reliance on renewable energy sources in the total energy mix and electricity generation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Kharabsheh stressed that these factors combined are enough to make Jordan an important centre for hydrogen production and export, in line with the Royal vision and the efforts made in the transition towards a green economy and reliance on clean energy.

Director of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) Jordan Office Elisabeth Girrbach said that the partnership with Jordan extends for many years in many fields, especially in the field of energy, pointing out that the Kingdom's growing needs in the energy and water fields prompt the search for alternatives to mitigate energy challenges.

Director of Research at Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy Peter Viebahn reviewed the institute's role in the fields of energy research, sustainability issues and development, and the transformation into environmentally friendly projects, pointing out that the institute focuses on the environment and its relationship to the economy and society, and the analysis and support of technological innovations.

Dean of the National University College of Technology Ahmed Salaymeh said that Jordan is one of the countries with the highest production of renewable energy in the region and has a promising future in this field. He noted that the Kingdom is among the first to find solutions to energy problems at local and regional levels.