Neom Green Hydrogen will hit all markets, says chief

Alamy via Reuters

• Completion due by late 2026
• $8.4bn joint venture
• Plans to ship to EU and beyond

Saudi Arabia’s Neom green hydrogen project is 60 percent complete and on track for full-time operation by the end of 2026, a senior official told AGBI.

“We’re progressing well on all fronts, including the solar and wind farms, and we have received all the major equipment,” said Wesam Alghamdi, CEO of Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC). 

“We designed the plant to be able to ship to every market, including the EU. We have solar and wind power solely for us. All the power is carbon-free. Air Products will take care of the certification.”

Air Products, a US energy company, is a partner in the $8.4 billion joint venture, along with Saudi Arabia’s Aqwa Power and Neom.

The plant, at Neom’s industrial city, Oxagon, in Tabuk province, is being lined up to be the world’s largest green hydrogen facility

The programme will integrate up to 4GW of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tonnes per day of carbon-free hydrogen.

Alghamdi said 50 percent of the solar panels were installed, and electrolyser buildings for hydrogen extraction were progressing “as planned”.

The project achieved financial closure last year, and NGHC has also secured an exclusive 30-year off-take agreement with Air Products.

The green hydrogen will be converted to 1.2 million tonnes a year of ammonia, which will then be shipped through a jetty that is under construction.

Saudi Arabia wants to become a world leader in the hydrogen economy. It was announced last month that it had established a new entity to invest an estimated $10 billion into the production of green hydrogen. Energy Solutions Company is reportedly backed by the Public Investment Fund.

NGHC

“I don’t see it as a competition,” said Alghamdi. “I would see it as another proof that Saudi Arabia wants to lead this market and is really serious about producing more hydrogen.”

In June Saudi Arabia’s minister of investment, Khalid Al Falih, said it was preparing to announce a line-up of hydrogen projects to be managed by PIF as part of its broader transition strategy.

According to Deloitte’s 2023 global green hydrogen outlook, the clean hydrogen market is likely to grow from $160 billion in 2022 to $640 billion in 2030.

The region accounts for approximately 10 percent of the world’s electrolysis capacity that has moved beyond the final investment decision stage, according to the Hydrogen Council.

The Middle East is anticipated to produce more than 18 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030 and export 1 million tonnes of mainly low-carbon and renewable hydrogen, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.

“I don’t think there is one person that would doubt that hydrogen is the fuel for the future,” said Alghamdi.

“There are a lot of sectors that are ready to take hydrogen today. Some of them will be ready soon. The hard-to-abate sectors like heavy industry, transportation, shipping.

“Aviation is pushing to be ready for hydrogen soon. There are a lot of industrial applications as well to use hydrogen to decarbonise.“

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Despite the optimism, studies show that green hydrogen is prohibitively expensive at current and projected costs, and several companies have abandoned or scaled back their plans.

The UAE’s renewable energy company Masdar, for example, pushed back its million-tonne green hydrogen target from 2030 to 2034.

Alghamdi would not reveal the price of green hydrogen that NGHC will produce, but said it would be “very competitive”.

“You need to capitalise on your competitive advantage to make the project economically viable,” he said.

“In our case, the abundance of solar and wind is a big element that made our business case. Renewable power becomes cheaper every day.

“If you pick the right business case and economy of scale, you get the project through on paper, you will find the off-taker.”