The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has started to build what is claimed as the Middle East’s first high-speed hydrogen refueling station in Masdar City. The facility will produce clean hydrogen from water, using an electrolyzer powered by clean grid electricity.

Through a partnership with the Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Al-Futtaim Motors, ADNOC will conduct a testing program to validate the high-speed hydrogen refueling station using a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles provided by Toyota and Al-Futtaim Motors. The collaborative pilot program will help ADNOC to better understand how high-speed hydrogen refueling can be used to support the UAE’s National Hydrogen Strategy.

Once the refueling facility is complete in late 2023, ADNOC Distribution will operate the site. A second station is planned to be established in Dubai Golf City.

“The need to reduce carbon emissions to address climate change is clear and urgent,” explained Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC managing director and Group CEO. “ADNOC is placing sustainability and decarbonization at the heart of its strategy and, while we decarbonize our operations today, we are making robust investments to be a supplier of choice for the clean energies of tomorrow.”

Al Jaber continued, “Hydrogen will be a critical fuel for the energy transition, helping to decarbonize economies at scale, and it is a natural extension of our core business. Through this pilot program, we will gather important data on how hydrogen transportation technology performs as we continue to develop the UAE’s hydrogen infrastructure.”

To date, ADNOC has allocated U$15bn to accelerate the use of lower-carbon solutions. By 2030, the company aims to reduce its carbon intensity by 25% to enable its Net Zero ambition by 2050.