Hydrogen Gas Turbines in the Middle East: NEOM, UAE & Saudi Projects

By Jackie Jameson · Published April 3, 2026 · 15 min read

By Jackie Jameson, Director of Regional Energy Systems

Fact-checked by: Green Gas Turbines Research Team

Last Updated: April 3, 2026

Methodology: This article is based on official project disclosures from NEOM, Air Products, Aramco, DEWA, Siemens Energy, GE Vernova, Mitsubishi Power, the UAE government, and other primary regional sources. It distinguishes carefully between hydrogen production projects, hydrogen-ready gas turbine assets, and publicly confirmed hydrogen-to-power deployments.

Executive Summary / Key Takeaways

The Middle East is no longer only talking about hydrogen. Saudi Arabia and the UAE now have real hydrogen production projects, hydrogen-ready gas turbine orders, and government strategies that move the discussion beyond white papers and pilot rhetoric.
NEOM is the region’s flagship green hydrogen project, but it is primarily a hydrogen-and-ammonia production project. Public updates show the facility is more than 90% complete, with commercial production now expected in 2027, not a vague “sometime in 2026.”
Saudi Arabia currently has the strongest public pipeline of hydrogen-ready gas turbine assets. Jafurah, Rumah-1, Al-Nairyah-1, Taiba 2, and Qassim 2 show how the Kingdom is pairing gas-fired flexibility with a longer-term hydrogen pathway.
The UAE’s hydrogen story is more strategy-and-pilot-led today. DEWA’s green hydrogen pilot and the UAE National Hydrogen Strategy are important signals, but public evidence still points to early-stage deployment rather than large commercial hydrogen-fired utility turbines already operating at scale.

Introduction

The region that powered the 20th century with oil and gas is trying to secure a role in the 21st century hydrogen economy. That makes the Middle East one of the most important markets to watch for hydrogen-ready gas turbines, because the region has three things few others can match at the same time: vast renewable resources, large industrial energy demand, and a deep installed base of thermal power infrastructure.

But it is important to separate three very different things that often get blurred together in hydrogen headlines:

Hydrogen production projects such as NEOM and blue hydrogen hubs in Jubail
Hydrogen-ready gas turbine assets that can start on natural gas and move into higher hydrogen blends later
Actual hydrogen-to-power operation, which is still far less common than many headlines suggest

This article focuses on the projects that matter most in public disclosures today: NEOM’s export-scale green hydrogen complex, Saudi Arabia’s broader hydrogen-ready turbine and blue-hydrogen ecosystem, and the UAE’s pilot-led hydrogen strategy.

The Strategic Advantage: Why the Middle East Is Betting on Hydrogen

Natural Resources Meet Existing Infrastructure

The Middle East’s hydrogen logic is unusually strong. Saudi Arabia and the UAE combine high solar irradiance, large-scale industrial land availability, port infrastructure, export logistics, petrochemical demand, and utility systems already built around gas turbines and industrial combustion assets.

That matters because hydrogen works best where it can plug into an existing energy system rather than requiring one to be built from scratch. In the Gulf, hydrogen is not only an export commodity story. It is also a story about decarbonizing industrial fuel, ammonia, refining, chemicals, and eventually flexible power generation.

Blue vs. Green Hydrogen in the Region

The regional strategy is not one-dimensional. Saudi Arabia is pursuing both green and blue hydrogen. Green hydrogen is represented most visibly by NEOM Green Hydrogen Company, while blue hydrogen is emerging through projects such as the Jubail-based Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Company and associated CCS infrastructure.

The UAE’s strategy is broader and officially framed around “low-carbon hydrogen”, which intentionally leaves room for multiple pathways. The UAE’s National Hydrogen Strategy aims to position the country among the world’s largest producers of low-carbon hydrogen by 2031, with official strategy documents and government reporting pointing to a target of more than 1.4 million tonnes per year by 2031 and growth toward 15 million tonnes by 2050.

Regional Project Snapshot: What Is Actually Public Today?

Project	Country	Type	Public Status	Why It Matters for Gas Turbines
NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC)	Saudi Arabia	Green hydrogen / ammonia	More than 90% complete; commercial production expected in 2027	Creates the region’s biggest green hydrogen supply anchor for future industrial and power applications
BHIG, Jubail	Saudi Arabia	Blue hydrogen network	Aramco completed acquisition of 50% stake in 2025; commercial operations tied to Jubail CCS rollout	Important for future lower-carbon hydrogen fuel availability to industry and potentially power assets
Jafurah Cogeneration ISPP	Saudi Arabia	Hydrogen-ready gas turbine power	First locally completed GE Vernova H-class unit rolled out in 2024	One of the clearest public Saudi examples of hydrogen-ready gas turbine infrastructure
Rumah-1 & Al-Nairyah-1	Saudi Arabia	Hydrogen-ready CCGT	Six Mitsubishi M501JAC turbines ordered in 2025; 3.6 GW combined	Shows Saudi grid expansion is being built with hydrogen-readiness in mind
Taiba 2 & Qassim 2	Saudi Arabia	High-efficiency CCGT	Siemens Energy order announced in 2024; simple-cycle grid connection targeted for 2026	Demonstrates the Kingdom’s gas-plus-renewables flexibility strategy, even where hydrogen use is not yet the day-one fuel case
DEWA Green Hydrogen Project	UAE	Pilot green hydrogen production and use	Operational pilot; more than 100 tonnes produced since 2021 launch	Important as a real hydrogen production-and-use pilot, but currently based on a hydrogen gas engine, not a utility-scale hydrogen turbine fleet

NEOM: The Crown Jewel of Saudi Hydrogen

The NEOM Green Hydrogen Company Milestones

NEOM remains the single most important hydrogen project in the Middle East from a global signaling perspective. NGHC reached financial close in 2023, with NEOM, ACWA Power, and Air Products backing a project designed to integrate around 4 GW of renewable power and produce up to 600 tonnes of green hydrogen per day as green ammonia for export.

The timeline matters. Earlier public communications described the project as operational by the end of 2026, but newer public updates from Air Products indicate the project is now more than 90% complete and expected to begin commercial production in 2027. That is the cleaner, more current way to frame it.

For article credibility, that distinction is important: NEOM is not vaporware, but it is also not yet a fully producing hydrogen export complex as of April 2026.

What NEOM Means for Gas Turbines—and What It Does Not

NEOM is frequently described as proof that the region will run future cities directly on hydrogen gas turbines. That is too loose. Publicly, NEOM’s flagship hydrogen project is first and foremost a renewable-powered hydrogen production and export asset, not a publicly confirmed commercial hydrogen turbine deployment for The Line.

That does not make it irrelevant to gas turbines. Quite the opposite. NEOM helps establish the fuel-side foundation for future gas turbine blending, industrial heat, backup power, transport fuels, and export ammonia chains. But the honest framing is this: NEOM is the region’s supply anchor, not yet its flagship hydrogen turbine power station.

Saudi Arabia’s Broader Vision 2030 Hydrogen Ecosystem

Hydrogen in Saudi Arabia Is Bigger Than NEOM

If NEOM is the headline, the rest of Saudi Arabia is the systems story. The Kingdom is pairing export-scale hydrogen ambitions with hydrogen-ready power assets, industrial localization, and blue-hydrogen build-out in the Eastern Province.

That broader system now includes:

Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Company (BHIG) in Jubail, aimed at supplying hydrogen—including lower-carbon hydrogen—at scale in coordination with Aramco’s CCS plans
SABIC Agri-Nutrients’ blue ammonia project in Jubail, which received feedstock allocation in 2024 for a plant targeting 1.2 million metric tonnes per year of blue ammonia
Hydrogen-ready gas turbine localization through GESAT and Mitsubishi Power’s Dammam manufacturing footprint

Why Saudi Arabia Currently Leads the Region in Hydrogen-Ready Turbine Momentum

Saudi Arabia’s public project pipeline is especially relevant for turbine watchers because it includes multiple named hydrogen-ready gas turbine projects rather than only hydrogen strategy documents.

Examples include:

Jafurah Cogeneration ISPP, where GE Vernova’s locally completed H-class turbine is described as hydrogen-ready
Rumah-1 and Al-Nairyah-1, where Mitsubishi Power will supply six M501JAC hydrogen-ready turbines for a combined 3.6 GW
Taiba 2 and Qassim 2, where Siemens Energy is supplying about 4 GW of HL-class combined-cycle capacity, initially on gas, with CCS compatibility central to the decarbonization case

This is the most important practical takeaway in the region today: Saudi Arabia is building future fuel flexibility into new gas-fired assets now, even where full hydrogen operation is still a later-step scenario.

Key Saudi Hydrogen and Turbine-Linked Projects

Project Name	Lead Parties	Public Capacity / Scope	Public Timing
NEOM Green Hydrogen Company	NEOM, ACWA Power, Air Products	Up to 600 t/day green hydrogen; around 4 GW renewable integration; up to 1.2 Mtpa green ammonia export	Commercial production expected in 2027
BHIG, Jubail	Aramco, Air Products Qudra	Blue hydrogen supply network for Jubail industrial users	Commercial operations expected in coordination with Jubail CCS
SABIC Agri-Nutrients Plant 6	SABIC Agri-Nutrients	1.2 MMTA blue ammonia plus 1.1 MMTA urea and specialty agri-nutrients	Feedstock allocation announced in 2024
Jafurah Cogeneration ISPP	GE Vernova / GESAT ecosystem	Hydrogen-ready H-class gas turbine deployment	First locally completed unit rolled out in 2024
Rumah-1 & Al-Nairyah-1	SEC, ACWA Power, KEPCO; Mitsubishi Power technology	3.6 GW combined; six hydrogen-ready M501JAC gas turbines	Orders announced in 2025
Taiba 2 & Qassim 2	Siemens Energy	Approx. 4 GW combined; HL-class gas turbines	Initial simple-cycle grid connection targeted for 2026

UAE’s Hydrogen Ambitions & Turbine Retrofit Landscape

What the UAE Strategy Actually Says

The UAE’s public hydrogen story is more strategic and portfolio-based than Saudi Arabia’s current turbine pipeline. The National Hydrogen Strategy formally aims to make the UAE one of the world’s largest producers of low-carbon hydrogen by 2031, with government-linked documents pointing to a target of more than 1.4 million tonnes per year by that date and much higher output by 2050.

That “low-carbon hydrogen” language is important. It gives the UAE room to pursue green hydrogen, blue hydrogen, synthetic fuels, industrial hydrogen, and transport use cases without overcommitting to a single pathway too early.

DEWA, Masdar, and the Reality of UAE Deployment

The UAE absolutely has credible hydrogen projects—but they should be described accurately.

DEWA’s Green Hydrogen Project at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the most tangible public example. DEWA describes it as the first solar-powered green hydrogen project of its kind in the MENA region. The plant produces roughly 400 kg of green hydrogen per day, and DEWA says the hydrogen is used through a combined heat and power unit of about 300 kW. By August 2025, DEWA said the project had produced more than 100 tonnes of green hydrogen since launch.

That is meaningful. But it is not the same thing as saying the UAE already has large utility-scale hydrogen gas turbines in commercial service.

Masdar, meanwhile, continues to position itself as a major green hydrogen developer and integrator across sectors such as power, industry, shipping, and aviation. In practical terms, the UAE is building the policy, pilot, and export ecosystem that could later support wider hydrogen-to-power deployment.

Are There Public UAE Turbine Blending Projects Yet?

The short answer is: not many at utility scale in the public record. The UAE has modern gas-fired assets, hydrogen alliances, and pilot hydrogen projects, but the public evidence is still stronger on hydrogen ecosystem preparation than on named, commercial, utility-scale hydrogen turbine blending projects already operating.

That is why the most credible way to write the UAE section is not “the UAE is already running large hydrogen-blended gas turbines everywhere.” It is: the UAE is laying the supply, policy, and demonstration groundwork for that next step.

What This Means for Hydrogen-Ready Gas Turbines in the Region

Across the Middle East, gas turbines remain strategically important for one reason: hydrogen does not remove the need for dispatchable power. If anything, the region’s renewable build-out increases the value of fast-ramping, high-efficiency, fuel-flexible thermal assets.

Hydrogen-ready gas turbines therefore matter in three overlapping ways:

Grid balancing: supporting renewable-heavy power systems with flexible thermal capacity
Industrial cogeneration: delivering power and steam to refineries, petrochemical facilities, and processing clusters
Future decarbonization optionality: allowing operators to start on natural gas and move into hydrogen blends when supply and economics improve

The Middle East is especially well positioned for this because it can pursue all three at once: build hydrogen molecules, localize turbine manufacturing and services, and expand high-efficiency gas-fired infrastructure in parallel.

Conclusion

The Middle East hydrogen story is now credible enough to move beyond slogans—but only if it is described with precision. NEOM is the flagship green hydrogen supply project. Saudi Arabia currently has the strongest public pipeline of hydrogen-ready gas turbine assets. The UAE has a serious low-carbon hydrogen strategy and a real pilot ecosystem, but the public record is still more advanced on pilots and strategy than on commercial hydrogen turbine deployment.

For turbine operators, EPCs, and industrial energy buyers, the takeaway is clear: the region is not waiting for a perfect hydrogen future. It is building fuel-flexible gas infrastructure now so that hydrogen can be layered in as supply matures.

That is the most important signal of all. The next decade in the Gulf will not be defined by hydrogen-only power plants appearing overnight. It will be defined by hydrogen-ready gas turbines, staged fuel transitions, and industrial-scale hydrogen supply build-out happening at the same time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is NEOM already producing green hydrogen?

Not commercially at scale yet. Public updates say the NEOM project is more than 90% complete, with commercial production expected in 2027.

Is NEOM using hydrogen gas turbines to power The Line today?

There is no clear public confirmation of a commercial hydrogen turbine deployment for The Line. NEOM’s public flagship hydrogen asset is currently the export-oriented NGHC project.

Is the UAE already running utility-scale hydrogen gas turbines?

Public evidence is still limited. The strongest confirmed UAE hydrogen power example is DEWA’s pilot project using green hydrogen and a 300 kW gas engine, not a full-scale utility turbine fleet.

What is the difference between blue and green hydrogen in the Gulf?

Green hydrogen is produced via electrolysis powered by renewables. Blue hydrogen is usually made from natural gas with carbon capture and storage. Saudi Arabia is pursuing both.

Which Saudi projects are most relevant to hydrogen-ready gas turbines?

Jafurah, Rumah-1, Al-Nairyah-1, Taiba 2, and Qassim 2 are the clearest public Saudi examples of new gas infrastructure with hydrogen-readiness or future decarbonization compatibility.

Why are gas turbines still important in a hydrogen strategy?

Because hydrogen still needs dispatchable conversion assets. Gas turbines provide flexible, high-capacity power and can serve as a practical bridge from natural gas to higher hydrogen blends over time.