On Wednesday, July 8, the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) co-hosted a two-day webinar with Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP), entitled “The Path Towards a Hydrogen Economy; How Industry Can Broaden the Use of Hydrogen.”
The panel discussions aimed to gather experts from research institutions and regional and international stakeholders who are interested in decarbonization and enhancing energy security, to set strategies to promote the position of the Kingdom, GCC and MENA region in using hydrogen in the energy mix.
Dr. Fahad Alturki, KAPSARC Vice President of Research, elaborated on his intro in the webinar that KAPSARC has recently initiated a project that looks at the opportunity for hydrogen in the Kingdom and how they can achieve Vision 2030 targets in terms of diversification and integration of more renewables. This is in addition to looking at opportunities internationally, potentially making Saudi Arabia a hydrogen exporting hub.
The workshop also aimed to explore the potential of a hydrogen economy and the key policy instruments required to incentivize fast deployment of clean hydrogen production. This was in addition to examining its opportunities in reaching climate goals and decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors like industry, buildings, and heavy-duty transport.
Holding this webinar comes in the context of KAPSARC’s energy webinar series, as the center, through its research programs such as Energy Markets & Industrial Development, Energy Transitions & Electric Power, Climate & Environment, Transport & Urban Infrastructure, Energy & Macroeconomics, and Policy & Decision Science, is focusing on developing a framework for the Circular Carbon Economy including a report of hydrogen and its contribution in generating more renewables.
It is noteworthy that KAPSARC announced last February its progress in the list of the best research centers regionally and globally. KAPSARC jumped 14 ranks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) research centers to rank 15th among 103 research centers in the region, and ranked globally 13th out of 60 research centers specializing in energy policies and resources.