Saudi Arabia aims to become 'the next Germany' in renewables

Saudi Arabia will work to become the next Germany in the renewable energy sector, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Wednesday.

"We will be another Germany when it comes to renewables. We will be pioneering," Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said. The kingdom is working with many countries on green and blue hydrogen projects and those to capture carbon emissions, he added.

Last week, the President of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, Khaled Al-Sultan said that the Kingdom aims to replace the use of oil with solar energy and gas-fired capacity to diversify its economy.

The green version of the fuel, which produces only water vapor when burned, is made with solar and wind power. The blue version is usually produced from natural gas, with the greenhouse gas emissions being captured so they can't escape into the atmosphere.

While hydrogen is seen as crucial for the transition from oil and gas to cleaner fuels, the technology to make it is expensive as it needs a lot of energy for production. The Kingdom also expects production of hydrogen from solar power in 2025 at its factory in Neom, a futuristic city being built on the red sea, at the cost of $ 5 billion.

The Saudi example for renewables, Germany, has become one of the world's biggest producers of solar energy, largely thanks to heavy government subsidies that helped spur the industry.