Green hydrogen is the fuel for a net-zero future

Green hydrogen is the fuel for a net-zero future

A general view shows the solar plant in Uyayna, north of Riyadh, on March 29, 2018. (AFP)
A general view shows the solar plant in Uyayna, north of Riyadh, on March 29, 2018. (AFP)
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The global energy transition is not just a necessity; it is an opportunity to rewrite our future, powered by clean energy. At the heart of this transformation lies green hydrogen — the fuel of a carbon-free tomorrow.

Saudi Arabia is leading the charge with its Vision 2030 reform agenda, which aims to achieve net zero by 2060. In alignment with this vision, the NEOM Green Hydrogen Company is at the heart of this effort.

On our path to a better, more stable and sustainable future, I am honored to reflect on the past year as CEO of NEOM Green Hydrogen Company.

In 2024, I spearheaded the growth and execution of the world’s largest green hydrogen plant, which is set to produce up to 600 tonnes of green hydrogen daily for global export, and to be fully operational by the end of 2026.

We achieved several construction milestones, including the delivery of equipment, the installation of key technology and setting up “Electrolyser 1” to go live in 2025.

Overall, we reached 60 percent completion across all sites, including the green hydrogen production facility, wind garden, solar farm and the transmission grid.

In parallel, we have been developing an organization for operations at scale, launching a recruitment drive while partnering with regional educational institutions to inspire, train and upskill future generations to join our sector.

We are taking tangible steps toward a decarbonized world. Just imagine: By the end of 2026, green hydrogen from our plant will be powering buses, heavy-duty trucks and vital industrial processes, reducing global CO2 emissions by up to 5 million tonnes annually.

The promise of green hydrogen extends far beyond individual projects. It represents a fundamental shift in how we power our world.

Wesam Y. Alghamdi

This puts us in the driver’s seat to move from promise to tangible delivery at a time when the world pins its hopes on green hydrogen as a sustainable fuel.

The confidence in our project is not unfounded. We are providing the blueprint for production at scale, enjoying the advantage of an equal joint venture partnership, secured investment, alignment with Vision 2030, a 30-year offtake agreement and rapid construction progress, setting us apart from other green hydrogen development projects.

This progress is not only a testament to the confidence of our investors and partners, but also shines a light on the dedication and expertise of our world-class team — a diverse mix of Saudi nationals and international experts.

The overwhelming interest in joining our mission, evidenced by more than 9,000 registrations for our recent recruitment drive, speaks to the exciting potential of this burgeoning field.

According to the Hydrogen Council and its insights report at the end of 2024, the clean hydrogen pipeline is mature and there is a need for pace and scale, which must accelerate dramatically in order to meet global climate goals. Staying on track is absolutely critical.

The promise of green hydrogen extends far beyond individual projects. It represents a fundamental shift in how we power our world.

As renewable energy sources become increasingly efficient and accessible, green hydrogen emerges as the ideal energy carrier, storing and transporting the power of the sun and wind to fuel industries and economies.

This is not merely a technological advancement; it is integral for a truly sustainable future.

The world is on the cusp of a new era — a green hydrogen era — and I am proud to be at the helm of a company that is leading the way.

- Wesam Y. Alghamdi is CEO of the NEOM Green Hydrogen Company.

 

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

Mathys Tel ‘100 percent’ committed to Spurs, says Postecoglou

Mathys Tel ‘100 percent’ committed to Spurs, says Postecoglou
Updated 15 min 1 sec ago
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Mathys Tel ‘100 percent’ committed to Spurs, says Postecoglou

Mathys Tel ‘100 percent’ committed to Spurs, says Postecoglou
  • Postecoglou told his pre-match press conference that Tel had been right to take his time over such a major decision
  • “He obviously wants to play. We’ve already shown that irrespective of age, he’ll get an opportunity here”

LONDON: Ange Postecoglou said Mathys Tel is “100 percent” committed to Tottenham after the French forward signed on loan despite reportedly rejecting a move to the club earlier in the January transfer window.
Tottenham were busy in the final hours of Monday’s deadline day as they bolstered Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged squad, bringing in Tel and defender Kevin Danso.
Bayern Munich’s Tel, 19, was also linked with Manchester United and Arsenal before opting for Tottenham, who have an option to make the move permanent in the summer transfer window.
Postecoglou, whose team take a 1-0 lead into Thursday’s League Cup semifinal second-leg at Liverpool, told his pre-match press conference that Tel had been right to take his time over such a major decision.
“It’s not so much that he rejected us or rejected anyone else,” said the Spurs manager. “Rightly so he was getting as much information as possible.”
The Australian added: “I had a conversation with him and I guess mine was purely around the football and I think he’ll find a really great place here in terms of where he is in his career.
“He obviously wants to play. We’ve already shown that irrespective of age, he’ll get an opportunity here, and the way we play will suit him.


“Certainly with what we have in the next few months and then more importantly what we’re building beyond, I thought he would be a perfect fit.”
When asked if he felt the France under-21 international was fully committed to Spurs, Postecoglou said: “Yes, 100 percent. I am more than 100 percent sure because he took so much time, was so diligent about finding out everything when he made a decision that it’s us.
“He obviously had options and that sort of gave me even more confidence that we are getting the right kind of mentality, the right kind of player.
“He is very ambitious. He’s got a great deal of self-belief and self-confidence. He feels he can reach the top of the game and he has chosen us, which is a great vindication of what we are doing.”
Tel and Danso will both be available for Thursday’s match at Anfield, but Micky van de Ven and fellow center-back Cristian Romero are set to miss out, with Postecoglou taking a “conservative” approach after the duo’s injury absences.
Tottenham are one match away from a League Cup final at Wembley as they seek to end a trophy drought that stretches back to 2008.
Former Celtic boss Postecoglou, in his second season at Tottenham, put himself under pressure earlier in the campaign when he said he “always wins things in my second year.”
But he said Premier League leaders and League Cup holders Liverpool would also be feeling the pressure.
“I don’t think Liverpool will be any less anxious than us about the fixture,” he said. “You’re in a semifinal, particularly a second leg and it’s still very tight.
“It’s a big game for both clubs so you recognize that, you embrace that but ultimately if you want to be successful these are the games you want to be involved in.”


’I won’t leave. Put that in your brain.’ Palestinians reject Trump’s call to expel them from Gaza

’I won’t leave. Put that in your brain.’ Palestinians reject Trump’s call to expel them from Gaza
Updated 46 min 12 sec ago
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’I won’t leave. Put that in your brain.’ Palestinians reject Trump’s call to expel them from Gaza

’I won’t leave. Put that in your brain.’ Palestinians reject Trump’s call to expel them from Gaza
  • Hundreds of thousands in the territory rushed to return to their homes – even if destroyed – as soon as they could following the ceasefire
  • Palestinians across the region saw in it an effort to erase them completely from their homeland

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Saeed Abu Elaish’s wife, two of his daughters and two dozen others from his extended family were killed by Israeli airstrikes over the past 15 months.
His house in northern Gaza was destroyed. He and surviving family now live in a tent set up in the rubble of his home.
But he says he will not be driven out, after President Donald Trump called for transferring all Palestinians from Gaza so the United States could take over the devastated territory and rebuild it for others. Rights groups said his comments were tantamount to a call for “ethnic cleansing” and forcible expulsion.
“We categorically reject and will resist any plans to deport and transfer us from our land,” he said from the Jabaliya refugee camp.
Trump’s call for depopulating Gaza has stunned Palestinians. Hundreds of thousands in the territory rushed to return to their homes – even if destroyed – as soon as they could following the ceasefire reached last month between Israel and Hamas.
Though some experts speculated that Trump’s proposal might be a negotiating tactic, Palestinians across the region saw in it an effort to erase them completely from their homeland, a continuation of the expulsion and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation.
That event is known among Palestinians as the “Nakba,” Arabic for the “Catastrophe.” Trump’s statement — a wild swing away from years of US policy — meshed with calls from far-right politicians in Israel to push Palestinians out of Gaza, particularly into Egypt.
“We don’t want a repeat of our ancestors’ tragedy,” said Abu Elaish, a health care worker.
Like many, Abu Elaish could point to his own family’s experience. In May 1948, Israeli forces expelled his grandparents and other Palestinians and demolished their homes in the village of Hoj in what’s now southern Israel just outside the Gaza Strip, he said. The family resettled in Gaza’s Jabaliya camp, which over the decades grew into a densely built urban neighborhood. Israeli troops leveled most of the district during fierce fighting with Hamas militants over recent months.
Mustafa Al-Gazzar was 5 years old, he said, when his family and other residents were forced to flee as Israeli forces in 1948 attacked their town of Yabneh in what is now central Israel.
Now in his 80s, he sat outside his home in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, flattened by an airstrike, and said it was unthinkable to go after surviving 15 months of war.
“Are you crazy, you think I would leave?” he said. “You think you’ll expel me abroad and bring other people in my place? … I would rather live in my tent, under rubble. I won’t leave. Put that in your brain.”
“Instead of being sent abroad, I should return to my original land where I was born and will die,” he said, referring to Yabneh, located near what is now the central Israeli city of Yavneh. He said Trump should be seeking a two-state solution. “This is the ideal, clear solution, peace for the Israelis and peace for the Palestinians, living side by side,” he said.
In his comments Tuesday alongside visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said Palestinians from Gaza should be resettled in lands in Egypt, Jordan or elsewhere, promising them a “beautiful place.” Egypt and Jordan have both rejected Trump’s call to resettle Palestinians on their soil.
Trump said the US would take over Gaza and rebuild it into a “Riviera of the Middle East” for “the world’s people,” dismissing the idea that Palestinians would refuse to leave or want to return.
Amna Omar, a 71-year-old from the central Gaza town of Deir Al-Balah, called Trump a “madman.”
Omar was able to go to Egypt during the war after her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In Cairo, doctors told them his cancer had gone untreated for too long and he died in October.
She said she intends to go back home as soon as she can, as did other Palestinians in Egypt.
“Gaza is our land, our home. We as Gazans have the right to the land and want to rebuild it,” she said. “I don’t want to die in Egypt like my husband. I want to die at home.”
Palestinians have shown a powerful determination to return to their homes after nearly the entire population was displaced by the war. Joyous crowds streamed back to northern Gaza and Rafah, both of which were devastated by Israeli bombardment and ground offensives.
With their neighborhoods reduced to landscapes of rubble, many returnees are homeless, water is scarce and electricity is largely non-existent in most areas. Still, for most, the destruction has not diminished their will to stay.
“We remain here, even if it means living in the rubble of our homes — better that than living in humiliation elsewhere,” said Ibrahim Abu Rizk, who returned to Rafah to find his home in ruins. “For a year and a half, we have been slaughtered, bombed, and destroyed, only to then leave just like that?”
The ceasefire deal brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar, calls for a return of Palestinians to their homes as well as a massive international reconstruction effort in its third phase – assuming Israel and Hamas can reach a deal on who will govern the territory.
International law forbids the forced removal of populations. The Israeli rights group B’tselem said Trump’s statement “constitutes a call for ethnic cleansing through uprooting and forcibly transferring some 2 million people. This is Trump and Netanyahu’s roadmap for a second Nakba of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Palestinian refugees have long demanded they be allowed to return to homes in what is now Israel, citing the right to return widely recognized for refugees under international law. Israel argues that right does not apply to the Palestinians and says a mass return would end the Jewish majority in the country.
Throughout the 15-month war in Gaza, many Palestinians expressed fear that Israel’s goal was to drive the population into neighboring Egypt. The government denied that aim, though some hard-right members of the coalition called for encouraging Palestinians to leave Gaza and for restoring Jewish settlements there. The Israeli-occupied West Bank — home to more than 500,000 settlers — has also seen more than a year of escalated violence.
The rejection of Trump’s call was echoed by Palestinians in the West Bank and in surrounding Arab countries like Jordan and Lebanon that are also home to large refugee populations.
“If he wants to displace the population of Gaza,” Mohammed Al-Amiri, a resident in the West Bank city of Ramallah, said of Trump, “then he should return them to their original homeland from which they were displaced in 1948, inside Israel, in the depopulated villages.”


Saudi Venture Capital Co. invests $1bn, strengthening Kingdom’s VC leadership

Saudi Venture Capital Co. invests $1bn, strengthening Kingdom’s VC leadership
Updated 05 February 2025
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Saudi Venture Capital Co. invests $1bn, strengthening Kingdom’s VC leadership

Saudi Venture Capital Co. invests $1bn, strengthening Kingdom’s VC leadership

RIYADH: Saudi Venture Capital Co. has committed $1 billion in investments to date, with its total assets— including contributions from partners— reaching approximately $4.8 billion, according to the company’s latest “Impact Report.”

The report highlights SVC’s pivotal role in expanding Saudi Arabia’s private capital ecosystem, underscoring the company’s contributions to record growth in venture capital, private equity, venture debt, and private credit markets since its inception in 2018.

To date, SVC has supported 54 funds, which together have invested in over 800 startups and small and medium enterprises across key sectors such as e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, edtech, transport, and logistics.

According to MAGNiTT, Saudi Arabia remained the top destination for VC investments in the MENA region for the second consecutive year, securing $750 million in 2024. This accounted for 40 percent of regional VC capital, with a 16 percent increase in deal flow, closing 178 deals— the most of any MENA country.

The UAE followed with $613 million, leading in deal volume with 188 deals and 12 exits.

“We are committed to further stimulating the private capital ecosystem in Saudi Arabia by launching required investment programs and developmental initiatives based on an analysis of the ecosystem’s needs,” said Nabeel Koshak, CEO and board member of SVC.

The report underscores Saudi Arabia’s continued dominance in the MENA VC landscape, reinforcing its position as the leading VC hub in the region. This achievement is closely aligned with the broader economic diversification goals outlined in Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to transform the Kingdom’s financial sector and broader economy.

Since its launch, SVC’s strategic initiatives have played a key role in increasing investor participation in Saudi startups and SMEs. These initiatives have encouraged financial institutions to establish VC and PE funds, while also attracting both regional and international investors to the Kingdom’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.

In addition to its investment activities, SVC has launched several developmental programs designed to strengthen the private capital ecosystem. These programs include educational collaborations with local and global partners aimed at enhancing the skills of fund managers and investors, as well as producing market insight reports to support data-driven decision-making.

Established in 2018 as a subsidiary of the SME Bank, part of the National Development Fund, SVC focuses on stimulating and sustaining financing for startups and SMEs in Saudi Arabia.


Rahim Al-Hussaini is named new spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, succeeding his father

Rahim Al-Hussaini is named new spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, succeeding his father
Updated 05 February 2025
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Rahim Al-Hussaini is named new spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, succeeding his father

Rahim Al-Hussaini is named new spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, succeeding his father
  • Rahim Al-Hussaini was designated as the Aga Khan V
  • The Aga Khan is treated by his followers as a head of state

LISBON: Rahim Al-Hussaini was named Wednesday as the new Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world’s millions of Ismaili Muslims.
He was designated as the Aga Khan V, the 50th hereditary imam of the Shiite Ismaili Muslims, in his father’s will. His father died Tuesday in Portugal.
The Aga Khan is considered by his followers to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and is treated as a head of state.
The Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili religious community announced earlier that His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, the Aga Khan IV and 49th hereditary imam of the Shiite Ismaili Muslims, died surrounded by his family.
It said his burial and will-reading will be held in the coming days, followed by an homage ceremony.
The late Aga Khan was given the title of “His Highness” by Queen Elizabeth in July 1957, two weeks after his grandfather the Aga Khan III unexpectedly made him heir to the family’s 1,300-year dynasty as leader of the Ismaili Muslim sect.
A defender of Islamic culture and values, he was widely regarded as a builder of bridges between Muslim societies and the West despite — or perhaps because of — his reticence to become involved in politics.
The Aga Khan Development Network, his main philanthropic organization, deals mainly with issues of health care, housing, education and rural economic development. It says it works in over 30 countries and has an annual budget of about $1 billion for nonprofit development activities.
Ismailis lived for many generations in Iran, Syria and South Asia before also settling in east Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as Europe, North America and Australia more recently. They consider it a duty to tithe up to 12.5 percent of their income to the Aga Khan as steward.


A special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Ukraine wins backing from European institutions

A special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Ukraine wins backing from European institutions
Updated 05 February 2025
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A special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Ukraine wins backing from European institutions

A special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Ukraine wins backing from European institutions
  • Legal experts agreed on the framework for the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine
  • “Now, justice is coming,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said

BRUSSELS: A project to establish a court to prosecute the Russian leaders who orchestrated the invasion of Ukraine took a step forward Wednesday, with an announcement from a group of international organizations, including the European Union and the Council of Europe, working together with Ukraine.
Legal experts agreed on the framework for the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, which will allow for the prosecution of senior Russian officials for planning and coordinating the full-scale invasion in 2022.
“When Russia chose to roll its tanks over Ukraine’s borders, breaking the UN Charter, it committed one of the gravest violations: the Crime of Aggression. Now, justice is coming,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
The move to create a special tribunal aims to fill a void created by limitations on the International Criminal Court. While The Hague-based court can go after Russian nationals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, it cannot prosecute Russians for orchestrating the invasion itself.


The 2002 Rome Statute which created the court does include the crime of aggression but only for countries who have joined the court. The Russian Federation is not a member state.
“The accountability gap for the crime of aggression must be closed right now because the lid of Pandora’s Box is blown off completely and our world is plunged into chaos and darkness,” Ukraine’s deputy minister of justice Iryna Mudra told reporters after the announcement was made.
Ukraine has been pushing for the creation of a special tribunal since early in the conflict. “If we want true justice, we should not look for excuses and should not refer to the shortcomings of the current international law but make bold decisions that will correct those shortcomings that unfortunately exist in international law,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to the Netherlands in 2023.
There are still significant issues to be worked out, including how the tribunal will be paid for and where it will be located. The Netherlands, home to the ICC, the International Court of Justice and other judicial organizations, has offered to host the tribunal.
It is already home to the International Center for Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression, which supports evidence-gathering for a future tribunal and is overseen by the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust. The Council of Europe-backed register of damages, which allows Ukrainian victims of war to catalog the financial harm they have suffered, is also based in the Netherlands.
The tribunal will be established under Ukrainian law, which leaves the future court unable to prosecute the so-called troika, consisting of a country’s head of state, head of government and foreign affairs minister. International law grants that trio immunity while they are in office.
The ICC, which isn’t limited by immunity, has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and several military leaders for war crimes.
The Council of Europe aims to get the tribunal up and running by the end of the year.