German delegation praises Dubai’s green hydrogen efforts amid increasing UAE-Europe energy ties

This week, DEWA’s Research and Development Centre in Dubai hosted a notable visit from a high-level German delegation, highlighting the growing ties between Gulf and European stakeholders in the fields of hydrogen and renewable energy technologies. The group was led by Marco Loritz, who serves as the First Secretary for Economy and Culture at the German Consulate in Dubai, and included representatives from the German Emirati Joint Council for Industry & Commerce, along with executives from prominent German clean-energy companies.

According to DEWA’s initial report, the visiting team was given an overview of the Centre’s recent scientific achievements, patents, and demonstrations covering solar power, smart grids, water solutions, and energy efficiency. DEWA also showcased innovations created under its Space‑D programme and utilized metaverse tech to provide virtual presentations of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park , which is the utility’s flagship solar facility and a key testbed for its green hydrogen initiatives.

The authority placed particular emphasis on its Green Hydrogen project, which it claims is the first solar-powered green hydrogen facility in the Middle East and North Africa. Located at the R&D Centre within the solar park, this pilot plant was developed through a partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai and Siemens Energy. DEWA describes it as a testing platform meant to explore how hydrogen might be used in transportation, industry, and broader future energy systems.

When you look at industry data and DEWA’s own media updates, it becomes clearer what the pilot has already achieved. Since starting up in May 2021, the plant has produced around 90 tonnes of green hydrogen. Of that, over 2.5 tonnes was supplied to the ENOC Group’s Service Station of the Future at Expo City Dubai. DEWA argued that this amount could fuel roughly 500 cars and claimed that it helped avoid over 40 tonnes of CO2 emissions during transportation. Other reports also put the green energy output at over 1 gigawatt hour , roughly equivalent to cutting nearly 450 tonnes of CO2. Currently, DEWA states that the electrolyser’s output rate is about 20 kilograms of hydrogen per hour.

The visiting German delegation reportedly praised DEWA’s efforts and stressed the importance of collaboration to speed up the energy transition and hit net-zero goals. “Partnerships involving tech developers, utilities, and policy makers are absolutely essential,” DEWA noted the delegates saying, although they kept a bit of a neutral tone in describing the delegation’s words.

This visit is set against a larger backdrop where the UAE is positioning itself as a key player in green hydrogen. The Green Hydrogen Report 2024 by Alvarez & Marsal ranks the UAE as the leading country globally in terms of green hydrogen competitiveness , a status that DEWA’s project is seen as supporting. Official messages from the government emphasize that the pilot aligns with Dubai’s Strategy 2050 for clean energy and its Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050, both aimed at long-term goals for reducing emissions and expanding renewable sources.

For those involved in climate tech investments or innovation in the UAE, the DEWA project signals some important things. First, the utility is actively testing and demonstrating a full chain of processes: from solar power generation, electrolysis, to storage, and finally, to use in mobility and industry. Second, working with international partners like Siemens Energy and hosting European delegations further elevates the project’s diplomatic and technological profile.

Of course, the numbers also reveal the gap between these promising pilots and actual commercial viability. The current output , measured in single-digit kilograms per hour and tonnes overall , clearly reflects a research-oriented scale, not a mass-market supply. DEWA and its partners see the pilot as a step toward making green hydrogen more cost-competitive. They say the project helps drive down costs and boost market readiness for larger-scale deployment.

However, it’s worth mentioning that there are differing opinions regarding the environmental impact of these pilots. While DEWA emphasizes avoided CO2 emissions in transportation and electricity generation, independent analysts stress that true climate benefits depend heavily on lifecycle assessments, grid integration, and downstream demand, factors that are not wholly captured by the pilot’s current figures. These numbers, while significant, don’t necessarily prove that the entire energy system is decarbonizing at scale.

The German delegation’s visit, in the end, reflects a pragmatic convergence. Germany’s strong industrial capacity in electrolyser technology and hydrogen systems could speed up knowledge transfer, while the UAE’s focus remains on testing policies, business models, and supply chains locally. Speaking about the bigger strategic picture, government officials and media statements frame the Green Hydrogen project as part of the UAE’s broader goals , diversifying its energy sources and boosting its competitiveness in international hydrogen markets.

DEWA has indicated that the pilot will continue as a sort of technical and regulatory testing ground. But, to turn this into a real export product or a fully self-sustaining domestic resource, the UAE faces several hurdles: reducing costs for electrolysis and renewables further, creating sustained industrial demand, developing hydrogen transportation and storage infrastructure, and establishing international standards for green hydrogen certification.

The visit from Germany concluded on a positive note, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to cooperation. Industry players praised DEWA’s research outputs and called for deeper collaborations to hasten progress toward hydrogen and renewable energy goals. For those involved in climate tech in the UAE, this episode underscores a key insight: pilot projects aren’t just experiments anymore, they’re becoming platforms for international partnerships, diplomatic signals, and technology validation, even as the leap toward full-scale commercial viability continues to be the main challenge.

Source: Noah Wire Services