Hydrogen+. You propose to build a new model, particularly in the energy sector, and you want to “change the future of energy”. Can you tell us more? What share for hydrogen? What territorial and international vocation? Where are you located?
Roland Kaeppner. NEOM’s goal is to ensure that all NEOM residents and industries are powered by a 100% renewable energy system with a sustainable supply of water for residential and industrial needs. ENOWA, the energy, water and hydrogen subsidiary of NEOM, is working to achieve this goal.
It is about creating a circular economy, at scale, that will make ENOWA, and NEOM, a benchmark for integrated sustainable energy and water ecosystems in the region and beyond.
This has many positive implications for people, businesses, communities and, of course, nature. For example, this means that our water will be desalinated using renewable energy. And the brine will not be discharged into the sea: on the contrary, all the valuable resources it contains will be recovered through innovative processes.
When it comes to hydrogen, it plays a major role in this strategy and this ecosystem, and allows us to truly export one of the most valuable resources we have at NEOM: renewable energy. In fact, we are building the world’s largest green hydrogen plant, a facility that will produce 650 tons of green hydrogen per day starting in 2026. This is a major investment in the NEOM project , achieved through a joint venture partnership between ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM.
This is truly pioneering work that has never been done on this scale.
What are your objectives for the Hydrogen Forum in Monaco and what will you present? Are you looking for investors, industrialists, etc.? ?
The success of green hydrogen will have two dimensions: the first is to make it available at competitive prices and on a large scale – which we are doing with our large factory project – and the second is to leverage the impact positive of green hydrogen on the climate in industrial and infrastructure applications.
While hydrogen has long been a staple of land-based mobility thanks to fuel cell technologies, we see massive demand and opportunity to decarbonize the maritime sector.
The Red Sea coastline of NEOM has a unique and intact reef structure and we need to avoid pollution caused by conventional fuels. In partnership with the Monaco Hydrogen Alliance (MHA), we encourage innovation that will bring together people, businesses and communities who share the same pioneering attitude towards the possibilities of hydrogen.
What messages do you want to convey during the event?
The message is clear: the future is now, it has already begun. Technologies are maturing to make maritime hydrogen mobility clean and sustainable, to protect our shores and their habitats and to help reduce carbon emissions. But we must act and this requires collaboration; we see global alliances like the MHA as essential to the proliferation of these technologies. We need to focus on increasing global interest and demand, giving young companies and pioneers the momentum they need to succeed. I see the MHA as a forum to bring together stakeholders, from innovators to investors.
What do you think of the future deployment of hydrogen mobility?
Hydrogen mobility has been discussed for decades, and it has now passed the tipping point. The technology is almost completely commercialized and scaling it up will drive down costs. Fuel is also available at competitive prices compared to traditional propulsion systems. This is because the cost of renewable energy has fallen significantly. Furthermore, what has been a weak point until now, namely hydrogen mobility in the maritime and aviation sectors, is growing rapidly.
The future is bright.
