Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power, the world's largest private water desalination company, announced it had broken ground on the first phase of a 3,000 metric tons per year green hydrogen project in Uzbekistan.
Chinese state-owned company PowerChina was selected as general contractor for the project, which is set to be developed in two phases. In the first phase, the company will set up a 3,000 metric tons per annum green ammonia pilot project. Construction has already begun after hydrogen purchase and power purchase agreements were signed in May 2023. In the second phase, the company will add 2.4 GW of wind energy to power the production of 500,000 metric tons of green ammonia per year, replacing 33 million cubic meters of natural gas.
On completion, this will be ACWA Power's second utility-scale green hydrogen project after the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project in Saudi Arabia, which is a joint venture between ACWA Power, NEOM and American gas and chemicals company Air Products.
The project was inaugurated by Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan, and His Excellency Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Investment, Saudi Arabia, in the presence of other Uzbek and Saudi dignitaries, the company said in a release.
In a statement Mohammad Abunayyan, Founder and Chairman of ACWA Power, referred to this being the Asian nation's first green hydrogen project, adding : "This marks a significant milestone in the history of Uzbekistan's energy revolution, and ACWA Power is honoured to be leading the charge." Uzbekistan is ACWA Power's second-largest market in terms of investment, with a portfolio comprising 12 projects, of which 11 are in the renewable space.