Monday, 20 May, 2024
Israel - the hotbed of start-ups, cutting edge technological innovations and diverse cultures is also one of the pioneers of the hydrogen economy. Several Israeli Corporations are rapidly advancing across various points in the hydrogen value chain. Being in the Middle East, Israel is also blessed with ample renewable energy potential in the form of solar energy. The country is also perhaps the only one in the Middle East to be water surplus and exports water to neighbouring countries. Israel offers great opportunities in the hydrogen sector in terms of technology, manufacturing and possibly even commodity hydrogen or ammonia exports.
The demand for hydrogen in Israel is mainly attributed to the existing oil refining capacity present in Israel and needs to be indirectly calculated. Israel has a cumulative oil refining capacity of 297,000 bpd(1), which translates to a hydrogen demand of 147 KTPA. In terms of ammonia, the demand is slated to be around 100 KTPA (2)which means a hydrogen demand of approx. 18 KTPA. The demand from automotive sector, steel, natural gas blending is unclear so far. The overall hydrogen demand is slated to rise to 5.2 MMTPA by 2050 coming from emerging sectors like power generation, automotive, aviation, shipping, and industry (3), thereby indicating a great prospect for hydrogen usage in Israel.
As of December 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Energy proposed setting up a National Institute for Hydrogen Production and Storage in Israel and allocated a budget of ₪100 Mn. ($32 Mn.)(4) Focus is also towards uptake of hydrogen for automotive sector via a series of hydrogen refuelling stations. However, details or any concrete roadmap of hydrogen ecosystem have not yet been released.
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Israel has about 26 GW of renewable energy potential, which is almost all solar. To reach net-zero targets, about 23 GW of renewable energy capacity needs to be installed by 2030 (5).
Basis announcements, Israel will host about 600 MW/year of electrolyser manufacturing capacity, all done by H2Pro, an Israeli technology company offering Electrochemical - Thermally Activated Chemical (E-TAC) electrolysis technology (6).
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