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Powering communities with alternative energy through blue H2

The world needs more energy than ever before. This means we need a sustainable system that can meet its growing demands, while also addressing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the overall impact on the environment. A system that can keep communities running, even as the energy transition takes place.

One possible solution is hydrogen (H2), which has potential as a lower-emissions energy carrier that could support significant emissions reductions in hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy-duty transport, heating, and power production.

With our track record in technology leadership, upstream low-, and low-cost oil and gas production, we see significant potential in large-scale, cost-competitive H2 production. However, H2 is expensive to transport. So how could we make it commercially viable to deliver this lower-emissions energy around the world?

How does transporting the world’s first commercial shipment of blue ammonia change the way we think about alternative energy sources? Aramco has adopted an innovative solution to transport H2 safely, cost-effectively, and at scale, by first converting it into blue ammonia. Following a successful pilot program of 40 tons to Japan in 2020, we delivered 25,000 tons of accredited blue ammonia to South Korea – making it the world’s first certified commercial shipment of blue ammonia. We then carried out the first accredited low-carbon ammonia shipment for power-generation to the Fuji Oil Company in Japan.

H2 is believed to have enormous potential, and we will continue our efforts to show how that potential can become a reality. Unlocking future opportunities to power industries such as steel, cement, and transportation, support grid-balancing, and even heat our homes. Ultimately, we want to help keep our communities powered for decades to come.

H2 is not only the most abundant element in the universe. It could also play an essential role in tomorrow’s energy mix, from fueling cars, trains, trucks, and ships to generating electricity and heating buildings. That’s because it’s a colorless, clean fuel that emits only water when burnt or oxidized.

Its potential as an energy carrier is therefore a key part of our vision to deliver a lower-emissions future with today’s infrastructure and help meet tomorrow’s needs for people and the planet.

A circular carbon economy. For over a decade, we’ve explored potential technologies to produce high-purity H2 from hydrocarbons, including thermo-neutral reforming (TNR) and a catalyst for converting diesel into H2.

From day one, our ambition has been to create blue H2 – extracting the valuable gas while also capturing all the CO2 emissions.

When methane burns it creates H2 and CO2, but what makes blue H2 different is that we capture these CO2 emissions and then inject and sequester them (store them in sinks). This forms part of our vision for a circular carbon economy.

We use two innovative technologies to utilize the captured CO2. The first involves injecting it into one of our oil reservoirs for Enhanced Oil Recovery, while the other takes the waste CO2 and converts it into chemicals, such as methanol, for industrial use. Any additional CO2 can also be safely sequestered deep underground.

Cutting transportation costs. Creating blue H2 was only half of the solution. The next challenge we had to overcome was how to affordably store and deliver this revolutionary fuel to where it was needed.

H2 is a very light molecule. It can be liquefied, but that requires keeping it at a temperature of -254°C, which makes it very difficult and expensive to transport – particularly over long distances.

The solution lies in converting the H2 into a chemical compound which is already widely traded around the world: ammonia.

Compared to H2, liquefied ammonia is far more convenient, practical, and cost-effective to transport, in terms of both the required temperature and pressure conditions.

Once the blue ammonia reaches its destination, it can be converted back into blue H2 or used directly as a fuel for gas turbines for cleaner power generation.

Blue ammonia: A world-first. In 2020, we successfully completed one of our most ambitious pilot projects to date – a supply network demonstration covering the complete hydrocarbon value chain through SABIC and in partnership with the Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ).

These ambitions were realized in August 2020, when we successfully shipped 40 tons of high-grade blue ammonia to Japan. The blue ammonia itself was transported to three facilities in Japan, where 20% ammonia was successfully co-fired with coal, and the same ratio with natural gas in existing power stations.

In 2022, we acquired the world’s first certification of lower-carbon blue ammonia and blue H2 production from TÜV Rheinland, and a total of over 45,000 tons of H2 was delivered overseas to East Asia by our affiliate, SABIC Agri-Nutrients, and the joint-venture Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company.

This is one of many initiatives that may help both South Korea and Japan realize their ultimate ambition of becoming low-emissions societies. According to the IEEJ, about 10% of power in Japan could one day be generated by blue ammonia.

Synthetic fuels. H2 and other fuel-cell technologies also have huge potential as a sustainable transport fuel for the future.

In 2019, Aramco established the first H2 fueling station in Saudi Arabia, while countries such as Japan, China, and South Korea are also investing in H2-charging stations and infrastructure.

This increasing demand for H2 helps demonstrate the importance of our ability to transport it around the globe in the form of blue ammonia, at considerably lower cost.

Pioneering cleaner fuels. There are still several challenges ahead, such as developing ways to convert a higher percentage of the hydrocarbon energy into H2 and working together with our partners around the world to establish wider infrastructures and supply chains for power generation and H2-powered vehicles.

However, it’s clear that converting natural gas into blue H2 could be key to generating affordable, reliable, and sustainable lower-carbon energy for everyone.

We are invested in tomorrow and embrace our role in developing the ideas and practical solutions needed for a stable, realistic, and inclusive energy transition. Each innovative breakthrough is a vital step closer to a brighter future, for all. And we will not stop until we are there.