Saudi Arabia’s NEOM is accelerating steps towards hydrogen production, as part of its endeavor to advance green and sustainable solutions and achieve the zero-carbon emission initiative by 2060.
NEOM Green Hydrogen Company has announced an exclusive 30-year off-take agreement with Air Products for the world’s largest green hydrogen plant.
David Edmondson, CEO of the NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC), said that the Saudi market, and specifically NEOM, would shift towards an economy that depends on green hydrogen, and transfer it to America, Europe and Asia through Air Products.
Edmondson added that officials in NEOM continue to lead change and transformation in this field. He noted that the product will be sold in the local market for the transportation sector, whether trucks or buses, revealing that the plant will start operating in mid-2024.
Located in Oxagon, the NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) facility will be the largest commercial-scale green hydrogen production complex in the world, with initial production of up to 600 tons of green hydrogen per day, saving 5 million tons of CO2 annually, NEOM said in a statement.
NGHC – an equal joint venture between NEOM, ACWA Power and Air Products – highlighted a total of SAR 22.9 billion of financing secured from 23 financial institutions, including Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), as well as local and international banks.
Moreover, NGHC also announced that the non-recourse financing structured for the project has been certified by S&P Global (as the second party opinion provider) as adhering to green loan principles and is one of the largest project financings put in place under the green loan framework.
NEOM added that Oxagon was selected as the location for NGHC due to its natural resources, strategic coastal location and the opportunity for industrial efficiency as a result of proximity to supporting cutting-edge facilities and future tenants based there.
In January, the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources granted the first industrial operating license to NEOM for green hydrogen, in a move that supports the Kingdom’s efforts to produce green hydrogen worldwide and consolidates its position as a leading country in the global energy sector.
