ABSTRACT
Owing to the detrimental effects of air pollution on human health and the environment, governments worldwide have set stringent emission standards. The transport sector is a major contributor to harmful emissions, and electrifying short-distance mobility is thus a viable option. However, the heavy-duty transport, aviation, and long-haul maritime transport sectors are impractical to electrify with current technologies. While hydrogen is an alternative to decarbonize these sectors, the technologies and infrastructure to deploy it as fuel for mobility are immature. In this chapter, Saudi Arabia’s advantages in green hydrogen production are discussed, and the technologies needed to convert hydrogen into “drop-in” fuels called e-fuels are explored. Such e-fuels can exploit the available propulsion technologies and existing fueling infrastructure. This chapter also describes the pilot plants that are producing green hydrogen and converting them to useful low-carbon fuels such as methanol and ammonia globally. These examples provide the inspiration for Saudi Arabia to become a net exporter of green hydrogen and e-fuels.
