The world’s largest green hydrogen production facility with a total investment value of USD 8.4 billion has now achieved financial close. This was announced by NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) in a statement. For this, NEOM signed financial documents with 23 local, regional, and international banks and investment firms.
The plant is currently being built at Oxagon, in Saudi Arabia’s region of NEOM. In addition, NGHC has concluded the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) agreement with Air Products, which is its nominated contractor and system integrator for the entire facility. It has also signed an exclusive 30-year off-take agreement with Air Products for all the green ammonia produced at the facility. This is expected to unlock the economic potential of renewable energy across the entire value chain.
Moreover, S&P Global (as the second party opinion provider) has certified NGHC’s non-recourse financing structured for the project which is given for adhering to green loan principles. With this, it has become one of the largest project financing put in place under the green loan framework.
Also, an equal joint venture between ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM, NGHC’s mega-plant will have the combined capacity of up to 4 GW of solar and wind energy to produce up to 600 tonnes per day of carbon-free hydrogen by the end of 2026.
Commenting on this, Nadhmi Al-Nasr, Chairman, NEOM Green Hydrogen Company, and Chief Executive Officer, NEOM said, “This substantial financial backing from the investment community shows the unmatched potential of NGHC’s green hydrogen project. With the financial close announced today, we are taking a massive leap towards opening the plant, in line with NEOM’s vision to accelerate renewable solutions.”
“At scale, this project is the first-of-its-kind internationally, leading the world in the hydrogen revolution. Harnessing the energy of NEOM’s abundant natural resources, NGHC’s project will pave the way for the large-scale adoption of green hydrogen, while driving Saudi Vision 2030’s sustainable development goals,” he added.
David R. Edmondson, Chief Executive Officer of NGHC, said, “I’m excited to announce that NGHC, together with our three partners ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM, has achieved another significant milestone in our project by achieving financial close on the world’s largest green hydrogen plant with 23 banks and investment firms. This is a historic moment as we drive large-scale adoption of green hydrogen as the clean solution to the world’s growing energy demands. This has enabled us to also conclude the EPC agreements with Air Products for a value of USD6.7 billion. Today, we are already well underway building the world’s largest facility to produce green hydrogen at scale with production scheduled to begin by the end of 2026. We are grateful for the significant support and commitment of our shareholders and the investment community to achieve project financing at this scale and look forward to leading the charge on the global transition to a carbon-free future.”
Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Air Products, said, “Air Products is proud to be shaping the future of energy with first-mover projects like this one, providing clean hydrogen to the world in a sustainable way. Air Products is the exclusive off-taker and will absorb the full production volume of the green hydrogen produced in the form of green ammonia at the NGHC facility to serve global mobility and industrial markets. Producing and exporting green ammonia supports the decarbonisation of these heavy-duty transportation and industrial sectors and will save the world about five million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.As the primary EPC contractor and system integrator for the facility, we are proud of the significant progress made with engineering and have awarded all major subcontracts for the project. Land preparation is also complete, construction is well underway, and the joint venture team is in place and actively executing to bring green energy to the world by the end of 2026.”
Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman, ACWA Power, noted, “As an energy transition leader and Saudi national champion, ACWA Power is proud to support and facilitate the successful financial close of this iconic green hydrogen project, marking our continued commitment alongside our partners, to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. We have a proven track record of leveraging innovative solutions and advanced technology to deliver clean, sustainable power at the lowest cost.With the combined experience of our global utility scale renewable projects and innovative partners, we are making rapid strides towards the development of NGHC’s giga scale-plant, integrating up to 4GW of renewable power from solar and wind energy to supply green hydrogen to global markets at scale. This is a significant step forward in our shared purpose to accelerate the shift to clean energy and support the Kingdom’s decarbonisation goals.”
In January 2023, Kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources gave its first industrial operating license to NGHC, which led the country towards becoming the world’s leading hydrogen producer.
