Saudi Arabia-based NEOM Green Hydrogen Co. (NGHC) joint venture (JV) has closed financing with nearly two dozen banks and investment firms, clearing the path for $8.4 billion to build one of the world’s largest green hydrogen plants, developers said May 22.

The JV, comprised of ACWA Power, NEOM and industrial gases company Air Products, is constructing the plant at Oxagon, a fully automated port and logistics hub in northwest Saudi Arabia. When complete, the plant will produce up to 600 tonnes per day (mt/d) of hydrogen in the form of green ammonia by year-end 2026. Developers say they will use up to 4 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind energy as part of the process.

“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,” NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr said in a statement. “At scale, this project is the first-of-its-kind internationally, leading the world in the hydrogen revolution.”

The financial close with 23 banks and investment firms came amid efforts to boost global development of hydrogen, an energy source with nearly zero emissions.

Hydrogen has been championed for its potential to lower emissions in the transportation sector, among others. As a fuel, green ammonia—made using hydrogen via water electrolysis and nitrogen—could help decarbonize shipping and other long-distance transport sectors.

Air Products also said on May 22 it secured the $6.7 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project. In addition, the company signed an exclusive 30-year offtake agreement for green ammonia produced at the facility to serve global mobility and industrial markets.

“Producing and exporting green ammonia supports the decarbonization of these heavy-duty transportation and industrial sectors and will save the world about five million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year,” Air Products CEO Seifi Ghasemi said. “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.”

Construction of the plant is underway, he added.

The plant is one of several first-mover, megaprojects the Pennsylvania company is pursuing.

Air Products’ $4.5 billion Louisiana Clean Energy Complex will produce low-carbon hydrogen, capturing and sequestering more than 5 million tons per year of the company’s CO2 emissions. The project is expected onstream in 2026.

In Canada, construction is underway at Air Products’ net-zero hydrogen energy complex near Edmonton, Alberta. The $1.6 billion project, which the company said will use advanced auto-thermal reforming technology and include a hydrogen-fueled power generation plant and a liquid hydrogen facility, is scheduled to come onstream in 2024.

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