Air Products announce $5 billion renewable hydrogen to ammonia project in Saudi Arabia
Last month, the world’s leading producer of hydrogen, Air Products, announced that it has signed a $5 billion agreement with ACWA Power and NEOM (a futuristic, sustainable city being built on the Red Sea in the northwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) to build a world-scale green hydrogen-based ammonia production facility powered by renewable energy. The project, which will be equally owned by the three partners, will be sited in NEOM and will produce green ammonia for export to global markets.
Il mese scorso, il principale produttore mondiale di idrogeno, Air Products, ha annunciato di aver firmato un accordo da 5 miliardi di dollari con ACWA Power e NEOM (una città futuristica e sostenibile in costruzione sul Mar Rosso nel nord-ovest del Regno dell’Arabia Saudita) per costruire un impianto di produzione di ammoniaca a base di idrogeno verde su scala mondiale alimentato da energia rinnovabile. Il progetto, che sarà ugualmente di proprietà dei tre partner, sarà situato a NEOM e produrrà ammoniaca verde da esportare nei mercati globali.
The joint venture project is the first partnership for NEOM with leading international and national partners in the renewable energy field and it will be a cornerstone for its strategy to become a major player in the global hydrogen market. It is based on proven, world-class technology and will include the innovative integration of over 4GW of renewable power from solar, wind and energy storage; production of 650 tonnes per day of hydrogen by electrolysis using thyssenkrupp’s high-efficiency alkaline water electrolysis technology; production of nitrogen by air separation using Air Products technology; and production of 1.2 million tonnes per year of green ammonia using Haldor Topsøe technology. The project is scheduled to be onstream in 2025.
Air Products will be the exclusive off-taker of the green ammonia and intends to transport it around the world to be dissociated to produce green hydrogen for the transportation market.
“We are honoured and proud to partner with ACWA Power and NEOM and use proven technologies to make the world’s dream of 100 percent green energy a reality,” said Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer for Air Products. “Harnessing the unique profile of NEOM’s sun and wind to convert water to hydrogen, this project will yield a totally clean source of energy on a massive scale and will save the world over three million tons of CO2 emissions annually and eliminate smog-forming emissions and other pollutants from the equivalent of over 700,000 cars.”
Mohammad A. Abunayyan, ACWA Power Chairman, added, “With our global experience, we are confident that our collaboration with an industry-leading company like Air Products will create significant opportunities in the production of green hydrogen, and further us in our goal to help countries meet their clean energy targets and unlock significant socio-economic benefits. Based in NEOM’s Industrial Cluster, and enabled by its unique mandate, this investment will integrate and localise cutting-edge technologies that will harness solar and wind power to produce sustainable and globally accessible green energy.”
(IFRF: International Flame Research Combustion)