Green hydrogen megaproject joint venture NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) announced today the financial close for its new production facility at a total investment value of $8.4 billion. The project is being financed with $6.1 billion non-recourse financing from a consortium of 23 banks and financial institutions, in one of the largest-ever project financings put in place under the green loan framework.

Launched in 2020, NGHC is an equal joint venture developed by renewable energy company ACWA Power, industrial gases producer Air Products, and Saudi Arabia development project NEOM, aimed at building the world’s largest green hydrogen plant. Slated to begin production in 2026, the plant will integrate up to 4 GW of renewable wind and solar energy to produce as much as 600 tonnes per day of carbon-free hydrogen.

Hydrogen is viewed as one of the key building blocks of the transition to a cleaner energy future, particularly for sectors with difficult to abate emissions, in which renewable energy solutions such as wind or solar are less practical, such as metals manufacturing and heavy transport. Around 90 million metric tons of hydrogen are produced annually, although the vast majority is extracted using fossil fuels, which create pollutants and GHG emissions. The development of clean hydrogen capacity, such as green hydrogen, which uses renewable energy to power the process to extract hydrogen from other materials, will require massive investments in areas including infrastructure, electrolysis, and transport.

David R. Edmondson, Chief Executive Officer of NGHC, said:

“I’m excited to announce that NGHC, together with our three partners ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM, has achieved another significant milestone in our project by achieving financial close on the world’s largest green hydrogen plant with 23 banks and investment firms.

“This is a historic moment as we drive large-scale adoption of green hydrogen as the clean solution to the world’s growing energy demands.”

In addition to the financing, NGHC also announced the conclusion of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) agreements with Air Products, valued at $6.7 billion, as well as an exclusive 30-year offtake agreement with Air Products for all the green ammonia produced at the facility.

Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Air Products, said:

“Air Products is proud to be shaping the future of energy with first-mover projects like this one, providing clean hydrogen to the world in a sustainable way. Air Products is the exclusive off-taker and will absorb the full production volume of the green hydrogen produced in the form of green ammonia at the NGHC facility to serve global mobility and industrial markets. Producing and exporting green ammonia supports the decarbonisation of these heavy-duty transportation and industrial sectors and will save the world about five million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.”