Neom green hydrogen project nears completion

• Partner says production to begin mid-2027
• Deal to supply ammonia almost done
• Scaling up ‘will not make a loss’

A partner in Saudi Arabia’s $8 billion Neom green hydrogen complex has said the project is nearing completion and negotiations on a major ammonia export deal are in its final stages.

The plant is being built at Neom’s industrial city and Red Sea port Oxagon as part of the broader giga-project.

The progress comes against a more uncertain backdrop as Neom faces a radical restructure. It also follows shifting fiscal priorities and increased scrutiny of delayed or shelved projects across the kingdom, as private-sector investment has lagged.

Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) is an equal joint venture between US-listed industrial gases supplier Air Products & Chemicals, Saudi-listed renewables company Acwa Power and Neom, to build what the partners describe as the world’s largest green hydrogen plant. 

Acwa and Neom are backed by the $1 trillion Public Investment Fund.

Green hydrogen is a clean fuel made by using electricity generated from renewable energy. It offers a low-carbon alternative for heavy industry and long-distance transport. 

Gulf producers see an opportunity because they have abundant sun and land for cheap renewables, existing energy and export infrastructure, as they look to diversify revenues away from oil. However, securing long-term contracts has been complicated because most markets do not yet have enough terminals to receive the fuel.

Air Products said in its first-quarter earnings presentation that the Neom plant’s solar and wind power infrastructure is more than 95 percent complete and production is on track to begin mid-2027.

The company is also close to a deal with Norway’s Yara International to market up to 1.2 million tonnes a year of green ammonia from Neom.

“We are in advanced negotiations on a marketing and distribution agreement where Yara would distribute and commercialise all the renewable ammonia that is not used by Air Products to produce green hydrogen in Europe,” Eduardo Menezes, CEO and director, said.

Image courtesy of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc

“We expect to have that agreement finalised in the first half of 2026.”

NGHC has a 30-year off-take agreement with Air Products for all the green ammonia produced at the $8 billion Neom facility. But lining up buyers has proved difficult.

Hydrogen is difficult and expensive to ship over long distances, so it is converted to green ammonia, which is more stable and cheaper to transport. At import terminals, the ammonia is “cracked” back into hydrogen.

Plans to supply hydrogen to the UK hit delays last year after Air Products paused development of its £2 billion ($2.7 billion) import terminal at the Port of Immingham. 

The terminal was meant to take in green ammonia from Neom and convert it into hydrogen for British industrial use, but was put on hold over uncertainty on UK government incentives.

Neom has a confirmed agreement with French energy company Total Energies to supply 70,000 tonnes of ammonia a year from 2030 and 2045 – roughly a third of planned output. 

Further reading:

• Work gains pace at Neom’s $8.4bn green hydrogen plant
• Neom to produce first green hydrogen this year, CEO says
• Giga-projects tracker: Neom

Air Products is also working on receiving terminals in the Netherlands and Germany.

The Neom plant is designed to produce up to 600 tonnes a day of carbon-free hydrogen, which will be converted into green ammonia for export. It will be powered by up to 4GW of wind and solar generation.

Air Products’ first‑quarter net profit rose about 10 percent from a year earlier.

Menezes said the Neom joint venture is not expected to be loss-making as it increases production.

Pointing to Saudi’s renewables market, he said power can be bought for less than $0.02 per kilowatt-hour, among the lowest rates in the world.

“It’s not going to be at a loss,” he said. “The power economics make sense.”