Speaking in the Green Hydrogen Summit at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, she said, “If you look at how hydrogen is produced and consumed currently, it’s pretty much local. Our estimations show that if you have distances up to 1,500km then maybe pipelines are the way to go, but longer distances would need shipping.

“Chile is having many discussions about exporting green hydrogen – but keep in mind the distance between Chile and Japan is about 17,000km, so our sense is that it will be more at a regional level, with around one-third shipped.”

Catherine Stewart, Ambassador for Climate Change, Canada, said it is well placed to capitalise on hydrogen, three years on from the launch of its hydrogen strategy. “But on the domestic side, there’s so much that we still need to do to advance the technology around hydrogen. We also need to talk about transportation, what innovations are required in terms of exporting, and research and development.”

Hong Thuy Paterson, CFO and COO of the Green Climate Fund, said its hydrogen projects range from small-scale accelerator labs all the way up to countries embarking on national clean energy transformations.

“Our role is to be catalytic and fill a niche that’s desperately needed in the market, to invest in innovative technologies,” she said.

Nigel Topping, UN Climate Change High Level Climate Champion COP26, said, “We need to put out the call to governments, investors and COOs to come to COP28 (in the UAE) not with 2030 or 2050 targets alone, but with CAPEX commitments, with FID decisions having been reached, and policies to enable that early stage investment – and crucially, the number one thing that derisks those investments is takeoff agreements, from steel, ammonia, aviation and shipping.”

He added that the Middle East is well positioned to capitalise on new opportunities. “It becomes this very interesting nexus, as hydrocarbon-producing countries have the expertise and the money to play this crucial role as facilitators of a shift in the energy landscape, in terms of green hydrogen and the global south.”