General Electric (GE) and QatarEnergy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together on creating a carbon capture roadmap for Qatar’s energy industry.

The MoU’s main goal is to determine whether Ras Laffan Industrial City, which now houses more than 80 GE gas turbines, is a viable location for the development of a global carbon hub.

The MoU was signed today at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy’s President and CEO. Ahmad Saeed Al-Amoodi, Executive Vice President for Surface Development & Sustainability at QatarEnergy, and Joseph Anis, President & CEO of GE Gas Power Europe, Middle East, and Africa, signed the MoU.

Al-Kaabi emphasized QatarEnergy’s strong commitment to reducing the consequences of climate change in his remarks on this occasion.

“This MoU affirms QatarEnergy’s Sustainability Strategy and our efforts to implement effective measures to curb emissions and produce cleaner energy using the latest proven emissions reduction technologies. We are pleased to work with GE, who is a strategic partner, to pursue all available avenues including the use of clean energy carriers such as hydrogen as a fuel for gas turbines coupled with efficient and affordable carbon capturing technologies from such turbines, on an unprecedented scale, to achieve a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions,” Al-Kaabi said.

On his part, Anis said: “QatarEnergy has a clear vision to lead the transition to a lower carbon industrial landscape. GE has been honored to support the development of Qatar’s energy infrastructure for decades and we are delighted to collaborate with QatarEnergy on their evolving sustainability journey. Exploring pre- combustion technologies such as the use of low carbon fuels to generate power, and post combustion technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration, can potentially significantly reduce the CO2 emissions from QatarEnergy’s facilities. Looking ahead, Qatar has the possibility of becoming a leading global player in the areas of hydrogen, ammonia, and CCS by helping to pilot and scale up these technologies for the rest of the world.”

The roadmap for GE gas turbine emissions reduction calls for the advancement of carbon capture and sequestration, the use of hydrogen, and the potential use of ammonia.