Oracle Power, a UK-registered company specialising in coal and gold mining, has signed an agreement with state-owned civil engineering giant PowerChina to produce green hydrogen in Pakistan.
The plan is to build a 400MW solar farm linked to an electrolyser plant with a daily production capacity of 150 tonnes.
PowerChina will carry out a technical pre-feasibility study for the project, to be completed before the end of the year, and Oracle will arrange finance and handle relations with the government of Pakistan.
The project is expected to be included in the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor programme, which may help the funding process.
Naheed Memon, the chief executive of Oracle, said in an interview with financial broadcaster Proactive that she believed green hydrogen was likely to be “the only fuel we end up using in a few decades”.
“Renewable energy in Pakistan is becoming increasingly economical and globally competitive,” she said. “We have an abundance of land and PowerChina has been in discussion with the central government to move into the production of green hydrogen.”
Memon added that Oracle is already involved in the development of coal mines in Sindh, which has familiarised the company with Pakistan’s business environment.
If the project goes ahead, it will be the first of its kind in the country, and could supply other industries in the country, such as steel and fertiliser production, power generation, shipping and the aviation industry.
Further reading:
