French energy company Engie and South Korean steelmaker Posco have unveiled plans to develop a large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia project at Duqm in Oman.

The move comes after a consortium led by the two companies successfully bid for a 340km² block of land at Duqm, offered through Oman’s recent first-round green hydrogen auction.

The project envisages ammonia exports via the port of Duqm to South Korea from the second half of 2030.

At full capacity, 200,000t/yr of electrolytic hydrogen will be produced at an inland facility powered by 5GW of new wind and solar capacity as well as battery storage. The hydrogen will then be transported via a new pipeline to the port of Duqm for conversion to c.1.2mn t/yr of ammonia for shipment to South Korea.

“This project is perfectly in line with the group’s strategy to accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality” Arbola, Engie

"This venture will benefit from Engie's industrial expertise. By developing renewable energies, renewable hydrogen and flexible assets such as batteries, this project is perfectly in line with the group's strategy to accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality,” says Sebastien Arbola, Engie’s executive vice-president of flexible generation and retail activities.

“It will contribute to several of our 2030 ambitions: reaching 4GW of hydrogen capacity and 10GW of batteries.”

The two companies will lead a consortium of developers that includes EPC firm Samsung Engineering, utilities Korea East-West Power and Korea Southern Power and venture capital company Futuretech Energy Ventures.

Engie and Posco signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 on the planned development of large-scale green ammonia production in Oman.

The Korean company has formed numerous alliances with international partners, including Saudi Arabia, aimed at developing green ammonia supply to feed its steel production and power generation. It recently committed to investing $40bn in renewable hydrogen and green steel in Australia, with a target of 1mn t/yr of hydrogen production in the country by 2040.

Oman aims to produce at least 1mn t/yr of renewable hydrogen by 2030. It is on track to become the Middle East’s leading hydrogen exporter and the sixth-largest exporter in the world, as its high-quality renewable energy resources and vast tracts of available mean it has the potential for large-volume production, according to a report by the IEA.

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Author: Stuart Penson