Sharjah energy company gets creative with region's first 'waste-to-hydrogen' plant

Dubai: The UAE keeps pushing the boundaries on clean energy sources… even from waste. Sharjah-based Bee’ah is planning what it says will be the Middle East’s first ‘waste-to-hydrogen’ plant.

The project includes a green hydrogen generation plant and a hydrogen vehicle fuelling station, done in collaboration with UK-based Chinook Sciences. Bea’ah, which also has projects in Saudi Arabia, has been building up its credentials in alternative energy.

By having the waste-to-hydrogen plant adjacent to the fuelling station, the “project will overcome the challenges of costly transportation of hydrogen,” Bee’ah said in a statement. The fuelling station will use green hydrogen generated from the waste-to-hydrogen plant from non-recyclable plastic waste and waste wood. The green hydrogen will be fed into the fuelling station to power hydrogen vehicles.

The UAE aims to be a major hydrogen producer and reduce carbon emissions by 24 per cent by 2030. Plans include investment in green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy like solar power as well as using carbon-capture technologies to create what is known as ‘blue hydrogen’.