Oman consolidates hydrogen strategy with ACME Duqm integration

Oman has taken a major step in consolidating its green hydrogen ambitions by formally integrating the next phases of ACME Group’s flagship hydrogen and ammonia development at Duqm into the country’s national portfolio.

Hydrom – the state-owned company established in 2022 to orchestrate Oman’s green hydrogen roadmap – has signed agreements with the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) and ACME. The agreements bring the second and third phases of ACME’s project in Duqm, located in the Special Economic Zone to the east of the country, under Hydrom’s coordinated development umbrella. This effectively completes the incorporation of early-stage hydrogen developments into a single national strategy, explains the Ministry of Energy and Minerals.

Spanning a combined area of 80 km², Phases 2 and 3 are each expected to produce around 71,000 t/y of green hydrogen and 400,000 t/y of green ammonia. This follows the start of construction of Phase 1 at Duqm, which will produce 100,000 t/y of green ammonia. Phase 1 already has an offtake agreement in place with Yara International, for the Yara Birkeland, claimed to be the world’s first fully electric, autonomous and zero-emission container ship.

ACME is targeting an annual production capacity of 0.9mn tonnes of green ammonia once all three phases at Duqm are operational.

Hydrom Managing Director Abdulaziz Al Shidhani says the integration demonstrates Oman’s shift from fragmented initiatives to a unified, scalable hydrogen framework. ‘By unifying all major projects under a cohesive national strategy, we are boosting investor confidence and reaffirming Oman’s position as a competitive player in the global green hydrogen market.’

The move comes as Hydrom prepares to launch its third land auction round, underscoring continued investor appetite in Oman’s developing hydrogen sector. The Sultanate has nine large-scale hydrogen projects now onboarded in the governates of Al Wusta and Dhofar – representing $50bn in investment and 1.5mn t/y of green hydrogen production capacity by 2030. The government sees green hydrogen as being key to Oman reaching its net zero carbon emissions by 2050 goal.

EU funds renewable hydrogen projects with near €1bn boost

Meanwhile, the momentum continues in Europe, with the European Commission (EC) awarding €992mn in public funding to 15 renewable hydrogen projects across five countries. The projects – eight in Spain, three in Norway, two in Germany, and one each in Finland and the Netherlands – are expected to collectively produce nearly 2.2mn tonnes of renewable hydrogen over the next decade, mitigating over 15mn tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

The monies will come from the EU’s Innovation Fund, sourced from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

‘The winning bidders, awarded after the second European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) auction, will produce the renewable hydrogen in Europe with a subsidy that will help to close the price difference between their production costs and the market price, and accelerate the deployment of cleaner fuels,’ explains the EC. Most of the selected projects will receive fixed premium support ranging from €0.20–0.60/kg of hydrogen.

For the first time, the auction included a maritime-dedicated budget, resulting in three Norwegian projects receiving €96.7mn to supply hydrogen for bunkering operations. These projects have premium rates as high as €1.88/kg, reflecting the sector’s higher cost base.

Grant agreements are expected to be signed by September/October 2025. The projects will be required to reach financial close within a maximum of two and a half years after signature and to start producing renewable hydrogen within a period of five years. They will receive the fixed premium subsidy for a period of up to 10 years for certified and verified renewable hydrogen production.  

In addition, Spain, Lithuania and Austria are to secure up to €836mn in funds through the EU’s ‘Auctions-as-a-service’ mechanism. This facility aims to support other eligible projects in EU member states that meet the auction’s qualification criteria but cannot be funded by the Innovation Fund due to budgetary limitations.  

A third European Hydrogen Bank auction is planned for end-2025, with a budget of up to €1bn.

The EC is also to soon launch the Hydrogen Mechanism under the EHB. This online platform will bring together buyers and sellers and enable market participants to share information and find potential commercial partners, explains the EC.

The EU has a target to produce 10mn tonnes of domestic renewable hydrogen by 2030, as set out in its REPowerEU plan.  

Saltend set for low-carbon hydrogen via HiiROC plasma tech  

In other news, Associated British Ports (ABP), HiiROC and PX Group have announced a strategic collaboration to develop a new low-carbon hydrogen plant at Saltend Chemicals Park (SCP), near Hull, on the north bank of the Humber Estuary in the UK.  

The facility will use HiiROC’s proprietary thermal plasma electrolysis (TPE) process to produce initially 10 t/d of low carbon hydrogen, with the potential to scale up in the future.  

HiiROC claims its TPE process consumes four to five times less electricity than conventional water electrolysis, cutting costs. It also notes that steam methane reforming produces approximately 9 kg of CO₂ per 1 kg of hydrogen, whereas TPE emits no CO₂. Instead, the process generates carbon black as a valuable by-product for use in tyres, rubber, plastics and inks.

The Saltend project could become a blueprint for similar installations in energy-intensive industrial zones, as the UK targets 10 GW of low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030.

Ceres announces first hydrogen production from Indian demonstrator unit

Meanwhile, Ceres has announced that its MW-scale solid oxide electrolyser cell (SOEC) demonstrator unit in India is now producing hydrogen. The unit is located at Shell’s Technology Centre in Bangalore.  

The electrolyser has the potential to produce 600 kg/d of hydrogen once at full capacity, with an electrolyser module efficiency of 37 kWh/kg of hydrogen, reports the company. The unit’s metal supported design allows it to operate at lower temperatures than current SOEC technology, lowering operational costs, it adds.

Phil Caldwell, Chief Executive of Ceres, says: ‘This achievement illustrates how Ceres’ high efficiency technology can scale to meet the needs of industry and deliver a route to economically viable hydrogen for green steel, ammonia and synthetic fuels.’

India has ambitious plans, targeting development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5mn t/y by 2030.