Tim Holt highlighted the Middle East's role in providing fuels like green hydrogen to countries like Germany, where it would be an important step in its energy diversification, as it would benefit from taking hydrogen from countries in the world that have the right conditions at lower cost to produce it.

Renewable facilities added 23,639 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity last year with solar and wind providing 12,804-MW and 10,754-MW respectively.

Kuwait also plans to develop a 2 GW wind and solar project, which will be tendered by the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects. Meanwhile, Iraq is also considering the strategic adoption of renewable energy as a way to wean itself off of Iranian imports of gas and power, its oil minister Ihsan Ismail told IPTC.

India also plans to simplify the authorisation process for green hydrogen production (including a single portal for all clearances and land provision) and to provide federal financial support to develop electrolysers.

Switzerland plans to build two to three gas-fired plants with a total capacity of 1 GW as part of a gas reserve.

“Clean hydrogen is key to cleaning up American manufacturing and slashing emissions from carbon-intensive materials like steel and cement while creating good-paying jobs for American workers,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “We're seeking feedback from the American public on how to make scaling up this clean, affordable energy source a reality for the United States.”

Called Snowflake – but also known by the less eloquent ‘Arctic Hydrogen Energy Applications and Demonstrations’ project – the facility will be a year-round scientific hub for the development, testing and maturation of carbon-free technologies robust enough to operate in extreme Arctic conditions.

China, the world's biggest greenhouse gases emitter and coal consumer, is expected to add 180 gigawatts (GW) of new power generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources during 2022, driving total non-fossil fuel capacity to 1,300 GW, according to a report issued by the China Electricity Council (CEC) late on Thursday.

H2biscus will convert hydropower and natural gas into green hydrogen/methanol and blue hydrogen, and also convert hydrogen to ammonia, with an aim to supply the hydrogen and ammonia to Sarawak and South Korea.

The Santiago project would comprise eight power generation units, with 304.10 MW Francis-type turbines and would require US$3bn of private investments for a total budget of US$6.7bn.