US hydrogen specialist PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp. expects to deploy a minimum of 100 hydrogen fueling stations with various Middle Eastern governments and private, public multinational corporations over the next 24 months, subject to completing the manufacturing of a prototype dispensing unit and successful testing.

Plans are part of PowerTap’s recent announced partnership with Viridian Hydrogen UAE to help establish a hydrogen ecosystem in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and throughout the Middle East to meet the growing demand for alternatives to fossil fuels, according to a company´s press release.

Initially, PowerTap expects to launch its products across the UAE resulting in the Emirates becoming the first country in the region to have a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure. Currently, having only two hydrogen fueling stations across the entire UAE, PowerTap aims to develop a hydrogen highway utilizing many of the country’s 643 fueling stations - replicating PowerTap's partnership with the Andretti Group, an independent operator with more than 100 retail fueling stations in the United States.

The PowerTap system will allow vehicles to fill up at point of production and co-locate with traditional gas stations. The new hydrogen filling stations will be meant to produce and dispense hydrogen for both commercial and passenger vehicles through its use of renewable natural gas and water inputs.

Viridian Hydrogen UAE, a company that provides integrated solutions across the hydrogen sector in the UAE and the Middle East through a network of local partners and advisors, will support PowerTap in working with a variety of companies and governmental agencies in the MENA region to implement the roll-out of the next generation hydrogen filling stations.