Saudi Aramco has given a rough draft of its plans to invest in blue hydrogen, produced by the reforming of methane into hydrogen plus CO2, but stated that it would take at least until the end of the decade before a global market for the fuel is developed.
Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Aramco’s Chief Technology Officer, explained: “The scale-up isn’t going to happen before 2030. We’re not going to see large volumes of blue ammonia before then.”
The company could well end up spending approximately $1 billion on capturing carbon for every one million tons of blue ammonia produced, and that would exclude the expense of making the gas, Khowaiter added.
The company could well end up spending approximately $1 billion on capturing carbon for every one million tons of blue ammonia produced
Aramco sent its first shipment of blue ammonia in September 2020 to Japan, a pilot project to prove the fuel could be exported. It will make a decision on additional shipments depending on the level of demand. The company needs to reach agreements with buyers before investments in blue hydrogen can really start to kick in.
French investment bank Natixis estimates that investments in hydrogen will surpass $300 billion by 2030.