A three-organization joint venture hydrogen project between Air Products, NEOM, and ACWA Power has hired financial firm Lazard to advise on a planned $5 billion hydrogen project in the NEOM high-tech business zone in Saudi Arabia, according to a Reuters report, citing sources.
The planned massive joint venture, planned for the NEOM area in Saudi Arabia’s northwest, will be equally owned by the three partners, and will produce green ammonia for export to global markets, the companies said in July last year when the project was announced. Now they have hired Lazard, who advised Saudi Aramco’s successful IPO, to advise on the project as it moves forward, Reuters reports.
NEOM is Saudi Arabia’s futuristic new city being developed in the northwest corner of the Kingdom. The city’s motto is “an accelerator of human progress.”
The forthcoming hydrogen-based ammonia plant is planned to be powered by renewable energy, the companies said when the project was first reported. The plant will produce ammonia for export, and is scheduled to begin operating in 2025.
The project will integrate more than four gigawatts of renewable power, including solar and wind-generated electricity, to produce 1.2 million tons per year of ammonia, according to a statement.
When completed, it will be the world’s largest green hydrogen project and will supply 650 tons per day of carbon-free hydrogen for transportation globally, and save the world three million tons per year of CO2, the company said.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
“We are honored 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, when the project was announced. “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.”
This week, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, unveiled plans to build a zero-carbon city at NEOM, with infrastructure costs of $100 billion to $200 billion.
