Meed | Saudi Arabia and India agree utility and hydrogen deals

Saudi Arabia and India agree utility and hydrogen deals

9 October 2023

Saudi Arabia and India have agreed to cooperate on electrical interconnection, green and clean hydrogen, and supply chains.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and India Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister Raj Kumar Singh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the planned cooperation during the Middle East and North Africa Climate Week 2023 being held in Riyadh.

According to a report by the Saudi Press Agency, the MoU aims to establish a general framework for cooperation between the two countries in the following areas:

Electrical interconnection
Electricity exchange during peak times and emergencies
Co-development of projects
Co-production of green and clean hydrogen and renewable energy in both countries
Establishing secure, reliable and resilient supply chains of materials used in the green and clean hydrogen and renewable energy sectors

The MoU will be implemented “in accordance with the countries’ respective capabilities, applicable laws and regulations in both countries,” the report said.

MEED reported in April this year that India is considering linking its electricity grid by undersea cables to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Singapore.

It was understood that the country’s Power & New & Renewable Energy Ministry circulated cabinet notes for inter-ministerial consultation to initiate the process to expand access to reliable power and enhance the country’s energy security, a local media report cited at the time.

This follows an announcement made in January by Singh that India and the UAE were close to signing a major agreement on a renewable energy interconnection between the two countries.

The interconnection agreement was to fall within the auspices of the One Sun, One World, One Grid (Osowog) initiative by a group of countries led by India to create global renewable energy networks.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo