Work gains pace at Neom’s $8.4bn green hydrogen plant

• Production should start next year
• World’s largest green hydrogen project
• Port of Neom work also progressing

Work on Saudi Arabia’s Neom green hydrogen project is 80 percent complete, with renewable energy production set to start next year, the developer behind the plans has confirmed.

“Construction of the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is advancing rapidly,” Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) said in a statement.

Progress has been made across the $8.4 billion green hydrogen facility, as well as the wind garden, solar farm and transmission grid.

The venture, which is equally owned by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, US company Air Products and Neom, will integrate solar and wind energy to produce up to 600 tonnes per day of carbon-free hydrogen by the end of 2026.

The project is being built at Oxagon, Neom’s industrial city located in the Tabuk province.

Equipment is now being received and installed, including wind turbines, hydrogen storage vessels and electrolysers, the statement said. 

The 4-gigawatts solar and wind power generation facility is set for completion by mid-2026, followed by the commissioning of the electrolysers and the first ammonia production in 2027.

NGHC has a 30-year offtake agreement with Air Products for all the green ammonia produced at the facility, the statement said.

The company reached a financial close on the facility in May 2023, securing funding from 23 local, regional and international banks.

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Neom’s authorities also said work has accelerated on the Port of Neom, with terminal 1 set to open next year, according to a press statement. 

A 900-metre quay wall and the deepening of the port channel to 18.5 metres has been completed. This will enable the world’s largest vessels transiting the Suez Canal to call at the Neom port.

The port has received the first automated remote-controlled cranes in Saudi Arabia, advancing automation and helping to increase trade links on the Red Sea.

In June 2024 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.