MUSCAT, AUGUST 16 US hydrogen technology major Plug Power Inc has established a presence in the Sultanate of Oman with an eye on opportunities in the country’s nascent, yet hugely promising, green energy industry.
A high-level executive of the New York-headquartered group was recently in Muscat to celebrate the opening of Plug Power’s office, as well as explore opportunities for business tie-ups with leading companies behind Oman’s multibillion dollar green hydrogen investments.
Nasdaq-listed Plug is already a well-established player in the international green energy space. It is currently helping build an end-to-end green hydrogen ecosystem, from production, storage and delivery to energy generation, aimed at assisting businesses in the US and around the world decarbonise their operations. Customers include Amazon, BMW, Carrefour, and Walmart.
Furthermore, having pioneered the creation of the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cell technology, the company has deployed more than 50,000 fuel cell systems and over 165 fuelling stations, more than anyone else in the world, and is the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen.
Frans Roozendaal (pictured), Executive VP of Plug System Solutions, says the company is well-positioned to meet the green hydrogen needs of companies operating in Oman’s power, energy, and transportation sectors.
“We are one of the few companies with that kind of capability in the green hydrogen space,” Roozendaal noted. ”So we are quite excited to meet with various proponents of green hydrogen use and see how we can assist them in addressing their needs. We are well-placed to not only design, build and deliver green hydrogen production and storage systems, but we could do that locally as well. I think the added value that we as Plug can bring to Oman is considerable, because we have here our own office, we have competent people, we know what is required in this country.”
While green energy is a promising new industry for Plug in Oman, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary Frames already enjoys an operational presence in the country, largely within the upstream hydrocarbon sector. Netherlands-based Frames, which was acquired by Plug last year, designs, builds, and delivers processing equipment, separation technologies, flow control and safeguarding systems, for water and renewable energy solutions.
Frames is currently undertaking the fabrication of a fleet of 40 gas well hook-up skids for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). Deployment of the skids will commence this quarter, with all 40 of them due to be brought into operation, in phases, in the near future.
Significantly, the contract is being executed based on PDO’s In-Country Value (ICV) guidelines, mandating significant local content sourcing, Omanisation, and local skills development, says Rajesh Malhotra, General Manager – Frames Oman.
“ICV is an important aspect of this project. To this end, Frames has hired local staff and contracted local suppliers, while all fabricating, assembly and testing are done in a local workshop. Further, as an integral part of this endeavour, Frames is currently imparting on-the-job training for two young Omani engineers in association with PDO Project and ICV teams. Frames believes that such real time exposure to these engineers will highly increase their future employability in the local Energy industry,” Malhotra stated.
According to Roozendaal, Frames’ acquisition by Plug Power will potentially enable the group to localise its electrolyser manufacturing capacity should an opportunity arise in the future.
“Plug will be able to combine its world-class stack technology with Frames’ system integration capabilities to deliver a range of turnkey electrolyser solutions from one megawatt (MW) containers to 1,000 MW standalone plants. It will also enable us to reach an installed electrolyser capacity of 3 GW by 2025,” he added.
Plug is currently building out a green hydrogen generation network and aims to achieve a cumulative daily output of 1,000 tonnes by 2028 at its sites around the world. Over the past year, the company has signed agreements to support hydrogen generation for customers in Canada, Belgium and other parts of Europe.
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