The world’s largest green hydrogen production project has reached financial close at a total investment value of $8.4 billion, according to joint venture partners ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM.

The NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) joint venture is building the project at Oxagon, in Saudi Arabia’s region of NEOM. Powered by 4 gigawatts of renewable energy, the plant will produce up to 600 tonnes/day of green hydrogen in the form of green ammonia starting in late 2026, Kallanish notes.

In 2020, the project was originally estimated at $5 billion, with partners projecting some 1.2 million tonnes/year of green ammonia would be exported.

Without addressing the changes in the budget, the JV says it has recently signed financial documents with 23 local, regional and international banks, and investment firms for a non-recourse financing of $6.1 billion. This has been certified by a third party as adhering to green loan principles and is considered one of the largest project financings put in place under the green loan framework.  

“This substantial financial backing from the investment community shows the unmatched potential of NGHC’s green hydrogen project,” comments JV chairman Nadhmi Al-Nasr. “We are taking a massive leap towards opening the plant, in line with NEOM’s vision to accelerate renewable solutions.”

The project, crucial to the Saudi ambition to become a hydrogen exporter king, will have all its production capacity purchased by Air Products under a 30-year offtake agreement. Commercial details of the deal weren’t disclosed, but supplies will target global mobility and industrial markets.

As the system integrator for the facility and primary contractor for the project, Air Products also secured a $6.7 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal with the JV. The US company says land preparation is complete and construction is “well underway.”

The partners say ammonia is a “cost-effective solution” for the exports of green hydrogen, particularly for seaborne trade.