Tajikistan—a nation heavily dependent on crude oil imports—is looking to develop its green hydrogen industry, with a goal of producing 1 million tons of hydrogen by 2040, the country’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources Daler Juma told Reuters on Monday.
Tajikistan plans to have 10 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Tajikistan currently generates almost all of its electricity with hydropower and imports almost all of its crude oil from Russia.
Its interim goal is to have 500,000 tons of green hydrogen capacity by 2030, before it’s doubled by 2040, “thanks to affordable competitive electric power,” Juma said. And 75% of that green hydrogen is set to be exported to other Central Asian countries that are currently using fossil fuels.
Tajikistan is looking to diversify its power sources away from hydropower, hoping to have at least 10% of its electricity come from other sources—like solar and wind—by 2030.
Hydrogen, an abundant element found in water, natural gas, and other organic compounds, can be used as a fuel source or as an energy carrier in applications such as transportation, heating, and electricity generation. Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, which involves splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind power. The resulting hydrogen gas is then compressed and stored for use as a clean energy source. Unlike traditional hydrogen production methods, which rely on fossil fuels like coal or natural gas, green hydrogen production emits no greenhouse gases and has zero carbon footprint—it also hopes to solve the intermittency issues with renewables like solar and wind.
Source: Oil Price