Answer extracted from the Beyond the Deck podcast — listen to the full episode below.
Why is green hydrogen momentum slowing and what technologies will actually drive the next five years of energy development in the GCC?
Green hydrogen will still play a role in the energy mix, but its momentum is slowing because technology evolution remains uncertain. The real near-term breakthroughs driving GCC energy development are LNG and CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilization Sequestration)—practical transition solutions that reduce carbon impact while remaining economically viable.
Why the green hydrogen slowdown is realistic
Everyone in energy was talking about net zero and abandoning hydrocarbons five years ago. The GCC took a different, more balanced approach—and now the rest of the world is catching up. There is no single solution that will solve the energy challenge; the answer is a portfolio of technologies working together.
Green hydrogen requires significant technological maturity before it can scale affordably. As Carmen Hamze explains in the episode, the timing depends directly on how quickly electrolysis, storage, and distribution infrastructure can be developed and deployed. Until those breakthroughs arrive, hydrogen remains a longer-term play rather than an immediate solution to meeting rising energy demand.
LNG and CCUS: the transition engines
LNG serves as the backbone for the GCC's energy portfolio over the next five years. It provides reliable, scalable power generation while lower-carbon molecules like hydrogen are still maturing. Natural gas is flexible enough to work alongside renewable energy and is already proven at scale.
CCUS is equally critical because it addresses the carbon question without abandoning fossil fuels entirely. The technology captures emissions from energy production and either stores them permanently or uses them in industrial applications—a pragmatic middle ground between net zero ideology and energy security. This dual approach is already being discussed in the Beyond the Deck podcast, where Hamze stresses that sustainability, energy security, and affordability must be balanced simultaneously.
The GCC is ahead of the global curve on this thinking. They recognized years ago that a balanced energy strategy—combining traditional oil and gas with renewables, gas infrastructure, and low-carbon molecules—was more realistic than a hard net-zero cutoff. Everyone else is now arriving at the same conclusion, making the GCC's pragmatic portfolio approach the template for energy development in the region over the coming five years.
For deeper context on how the entire GCC energy sector is being reframed around this portfolio logic, the full episode explores data centers, renewable integration, and the role of electricity demand in shaping infrastructure investment.
"There's not one solution that's going to solve everything. It's multiple—green hydrogen will still be in place, LNG and CCUS will be key."
Carmen Hamze — Partner at Rollenberger, energy sector strategist with over 14 years of experience across the GCC. Hamze began her career in biomedical research and healthcare consulting before transitioning into energy consulting at a GCC utility, where she built deep expertise in energy strategy and sustainability planning.
See also
What is the current landscape of the energy sector across the GCC and how has it shifted in recent years?
The GCC energy sector has shifted from focusing on siloed subsectors like oil and gas to a portfolio approach that integrates renewable energy, data centers, gas infrastructure, and low-carbon molecules like LNG, hydrogen, and CCUS—all balanced against sustainability, energy security, and affordability.
What is the 'culture eats strategy for breakfast' lesson Nourhan Farhat learned moving from consulting to Kareem?
Farhat says the phrase 'culture eats strategy for breakfast' was common in consulting circles but only truly clicked for her once she became an operator at Kareem, where she had to embed culture directly into execution and organizational decisions.
How does Nourhan Farhat manage work-life balance across her demanding professional and personal roles?
Farhat operates with what she calls a personal operating model with explicit boundaries communicated to both her team and her family: she is fully present in each domain, respecting clear time blocks for work and personal life.
Key takeaways
- Green hydrogen remains part of the long-term energy mix but will progress slowly, dependent on continued technology evolution and cost reductions.
- LNG is the immediate backbone technology for the next five years, providing reliable, scalable power generation while cleaner solutions mature.
- CCUS enables practical carbon reduction without abandoning fossil fuels, serving as a bridge solution between energy security and environmental responsibility.
- The GCC's balanced portfolio approach—combining traditional hydrocarbons, renewables, gas, and low-carbon molecules—is now becoming the global standard for energy planning.