Muscat : Electricité de France S.A. and its subsidiary EDF Renewables (“EDF Group”), Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (“J-POWER”) and YamnaCo Ltd (“Yamna”) (the “Consortium”) announce the award of a land block by Hydrogen Oman SPC (“Hydrom”), state-owned company and leader of the Omani hydrogen vision. Spanning over 341km2, this land block located in the Governorate of Dhofar will allow the development by the Consortium of a large-scale green ammonia project with a capacity of 1 million tonnes per year (the "Project").

Leveraging the excellent renewable energy resources of Oman, the Consortium intends to install approximately 4.5 GW of wind and solar capacity coupled with battery storage and an approximately 2.5 GW state-of-art electrolyser. The produced hydrogen would then be supplied to an ammonia plant to be built in the Salalah Free Zone.

Hydrom and the Consortium signed the Project Development Agreement and the Sub-Usufruct Agreement (the “Project Agreements”), which grant the Consortium with the exclusive right to develop, build, own, operate and maintain the Project for a period of 47 years.

The Project Agreements were signed by HE. Eng. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals and Chairman of Hydrom, Luc Koechlin, CEO Middle East of EDF Group, Olivier Bordes, CEO Middle East of EDF Renewables, Michihide Kita, Director General, International Business Development Department of J-POWER, Abdelaziz Yatribi, CEO of Yamna.

This signing closes the “Hydrom Phase A Round 2” competitive green hydrogen tender procedure launched by Hydrom in June 2023, and enshrines the award of the land block to the Consortium, for the development of the Project.

The award of the Project materialises the successful partnership between the different Consortium members. Once commercially operational, the Project will make the Sultanate of Oman a home to one of the world’s largest green hydrogen and derivatives plant.

Following the signing, HE. Eng. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals and Chairman of Hydrom, said: “Oman is strategically located between two key green hydrogen demand centers in Europe and Asia. This, in addition to, our tier-1 infrastructure and logistics capabilities have enabled us to leverage our first mover advantage in the global hydrogen industry. The availability of renewable natural resources in Oman coupled with the country’s favorable geopolitical positioning, investor-friendly policies and progressive energy transition strategies make it one of the most suitable countries for green hydrogen production. I would like to congratulate EDF Group, J-Power and Yamna on their awarding and look forward to working together to realise our collective vision.”

Commenting on this success, Beatrice Buffon, EDF Renewables Chairwoman and CEO and EDF Group Vice President in charge of the International Division said “EDF Group and its subsidiary EDF Renewables are proud to be awarded, alongside their partners in the Hydrom project. This achievement demonstrates the trust of the Sultanate of Oman in our decarbonisation solutions. With its Hydrogen Plan, EDF is supporting the energy transition of the sectors which emit the most CO₂. Hydrogen fuels a future where sustainability meets innovation. This is why we're not just generating power ; we're paving the way for cleaner, greener, and more innovative energy solutions for the generations to come”.

“We are honoured by this great opportunity to participate in the Project and to collaborate with Omani stakeholders as well as our partners. Considering the development of renewable energies and renewable-based hydrogen, the Project is in line with our strategy “Blue Mission 2050” to accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality. It will contribute to both Oman and global net-zero-emissions goals”, said Hiroyasu Sugiyama, J-POWER Executive Vice President.

Abdelaziz Yatribi, Yamna Chief Executive Officer, further added “We are excited to embark on this journey with our partners, with a target to deliver a transformational flagship Project for both Oman and the global hydrogen industry. We at Yamna are eager to significantly contribute to the success of this project leveraging on our expertise of green hydrogen and ammonia, and our experience in Oman”.

EDF is the world’s leading low-carbon energy producer, with a score of 93% CO₂ emissions-free generation, with a long-lasting presence in the Middle East for almost 30 years where EDF Renewables secured over 7.5 GWp of solar and wind farms. J-POWER is a leading Japanese power generation company seeking to achieve net emissions zero from Japan’s power generation operations by 2050, and Yamna is a UK-based global green hydrogen and derivatives developer and investor.

Green hydrogen and its derivatives are crucial for Oman’s energy transition and sustainability strategy, as the government aims to raise renewable energy-based hydrogen production to at least 1 Mtpa by 2030, as part of the Oman National Energy Strategy 2040.

The Consortium will now continue the development of the Project conducting detailed studies, with a view to swiftly deliver this transformational project for Oman and the energy transition.

-Ends-

Note: ‘Mtpa’ stands for million tonnes per annum, ‘GW’ stands for gigawatt, ‘GWp’ stands for gigawatt-peak

About Hydrom

Hydrom is a fully owned independent subsidiary of Energy Development Oman SAOC (EDO) and serves as the overall orchestrator and master planner of Oman’s green hydrogen sector. Its mandate includes setting the strategy and advising government on policies and legal framework for the hydrogen sector in addition to delineating government-owned lands earmarked for hydrogen. Hydrom is also responsible for the structuring of large-scale green hydrogen projects, managing the allocation process to developers, and facilitating the development of shared infrastructure and connected ecosystem industries and hubs. Through its role, Hydrom is advancing In-country Value by generating employment, expanding educational resources and developing localised supply chains and industry-adjacent opportunities across the value chain.

For more information, visit www.hydrom.om

For media enquiries, please contact: rajwa.alojaili@ouridentity.com 

About EDF Group and EDF Renewables

The EDF Group is a key player in the energy transition, as an integrated energy operator engaged in all aspects of the energy business: power generation, distribution, trading, energy sales and energy services. The Group is a world leader in low-carbon energy, with a low carbon output of 434TWh, a diverse generation mix based mainly on nuclear and renewable energy (including hydropower). It is also investing in new technologies to support the energy transition. EDF’s raison d’être is to build a net zero energy future with electricity and innovative solutions and services, to help save the planet and drive well-being and economic development. The Group supplies energy and services to approximately 40.9 million customers and generated consolidated sales of €139.7 billion in 2023.

At the end of 2023, EDF Renewables operates a net installed wind and solar capacity of 12.8 GW (21.2 GW gross) worldwide.

Mainly present in Europe and North America, EDF Renewables is pursuing its development by taking a position in promising emerging markets such as: Brazil, China, India, South Africa and in the Middle East. Historically active in onshore wind and photovoltaics, the Company is now strongly positioned on offshore wind and floating wind as well as in new technologies such as energy storage, floating solar and agrivoltaism.

For more information: www.uae.edf.com & www.mea-edf-re.com

Follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/edf-middleeast & https://www.linkedin.com/company/edf-renewables-middle-east

For media enquiries, please contact: alexandra.taleva@edf.com | +971 54 522 73 73

About J-POWER

J-POWER was founded in 1952 as a Japanese government–owned company. Having been privatised in 2004, J-POWER is now one of the largest electric power utility companies in Japan and installed capacity of approximately 26.1GW globally with a demonstrated commitment to renewable energy and decarbonisation. J-POWER is operating a power generation capacity of 18.0 GW in Japan and engages in its overseas power generation business with power generation capacity of 8.1 GW.

Press Contact: mediarelations@jpower.co.jp

About Yamna

Yamna is a specialised green hydrogen and derivatives platform led by experts in the energy industry. We aim to produce green molecules at scale to displace existing or future fossil fuel solutions and contribute to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

Yamna is focusing on large scale green hydrogen and derivatives projects in the most competitive locations globally taking an early mover position in an attractive segment with strong fundamentals. The company is financially backed by HYCAP, a UK-based private equity fund manager fully dedicated to hydrogen.

Press Contact: amine.masnaoui@yamnaco.com