The $5bn green hydrogen-based ammonia plant being developed by Acwa Power and Air Products in the Neom development in Saudi Arabia is due to start producing green ammonia in the first quarter of 2025.
Speaking at the World Hydrogen Mena online conference on 21 April, Andrea Lovato, executive vice president and global head of renewable development at Acwa Power, said that preparatory works on the project were already underway.
“The Neom project is in the initial phase of construction and going for financial close. It will be ready to start producing green ammonia in the first quarter of 2025. The project will have the capacity to produce 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia per year.”
Acwa Power and Air Products signed initial agreements for the $5bn hydrogen-based ammonia plant in June 2020.
The $5bn hydrogen-based plant will be located at the planned $500bn Neom development on the Red Sea Coast of the kingdom, one of the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF’s) key megaprojects planned to diversify the country’s economy away from a dependence on oil.
The project will be powered by more than 4GW of renewable energy, and will be able to produce 1.2 million tonnes per year of ammonia. The plant will produce 650 tonnes of hydrogen daily, Air Products revealed in a statement released on 7July, 2020.
Air Products will be the offtaker for the produced green ammonia, and will invest a further $2bn in distribution. Production from the facility is due to begin in 2025.
The hydrogen plant is not the first multi-billion dollar joint-venture between Air Products and Acwa Power. In 2018, Acwa Power signed an agreement with Air Products and state oil firm Saudi Aramco to form a joint venture worth more than $8bn to operate a $4bn gasification plant and 4GW power plant that was under-construction.
