Energy

Saudi Aramco bolsters blue hydrogen portfolio

By Pramod Kumar

July 17, 2024, 7:40 AM

People, Person, Groupshot APQ CEO Ebubekir Koyuncu (sitting left) and Aramco acting senior vice president of new business development Mohanad M Alamdar at the signing ceremony — APQ CEO Ebubekir Koyuncu (sitting left) and Aramco acting senior vice president of new business development Mohanad M Alamdar at the signing ceremony

Saudi Aramco has acquired a 50 percent stake in Jubail-based Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Company (BHIG), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Products Qudra.

No financial details were disclosed.

The transaction, subject to standard closing conditions, includes options for the oil giant to offtake hydrogen and nitrogen.

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The remaining 50 percent will be owned by APQ, a joint venture between US-headquartered Air Products and Riyadh-based Qudra Energy.

Ashraf Al Ghazzawi, executive vice president of strategy and corporate development, said the investment highlights Aramco’s ambition to expand its new energies portfolio and grow its lower-carbon hydrogen business.

Aramco intends to leverage its growing capabilities in carbon capture and storage (CCS), as well as technical expertise in hydrogen to support the establishment of a vibrant marketplace for lower-carbon hydrogen.

BHIG produces lower-carbon hydrogen while capturing and storing CO2. It is set to commence commercial operations in collaboration with Aramco’s CCS activities.

Neom Green Hydrogen Company is already building an $8.4 billion green hydrogen plant in the $500 billion mega-city.

The hydrogen rainbow

Green hydrogen is produced on a carbon-neutral basis through water electrolysis.
Turquoise hydrogen is created when natural gas is broken down into hydrogen and solid carbon with the help of methane pyrolysis.
Blue hydrogen is generated from the steam reduction of natural gas.
Grey hydrogen is obtained by steam reforming fossil fuels such as natural gas or coal.
Sometimes other colours are ascribed to hydrogen, based on how it is produced. For red, pink and violet hydrogen, the electrolysers are driven by nuclear power.
Yellow hydrogen is hydrogen produced from a mixture of renewable energies and fossil fuels.
White hydrogen is a waste product of other chemical processes, while the use of coal as a fuel produces brown hydrogen.