ACWA Power, EnBW to develop the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub

Twice the size of NEOM: 4GW of electrolysis, more than 2 million tons ammonia production capacity

Click to learn more. ACWA Power signs an agreement with a series of European partners to create a “Green Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Export” value chain between Saudi Arabia and Europe, including the new Yanvu renewable ammonia project. Source: ACWA Power.

A series of agreements have been signed between Saudi and European players, aimed at creating a “Green Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Export” value chain between Saudi Arabia and Europe. At the event, German utility EnBW confirmed that it would partner with ACWA Power on the first phase of the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub, which is planned to be ready for commercial operations by 2030. Located in Yanbu, a port city on the Red Sea, the Yanbu hub will be a fully integrated facility with its own captive renewable electricity generation, desalination plants to feed hydrogen electrolysis, multiple ammonia production trains, as well as a dedicated export terminal. 4 GW of electrolysis will lead to the production of 400,000 tons of renewable hydrogen per year, or more than 2.2 million tons of renewable ammonia – twice the size of the under-construction NEOM project (also on the Red Sea coast).

FEED contract awarded

Tecnicas Reunidas and partner Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering have been awarded the FEED contract for the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub. The scope of the FEED work includes a facility for the production of 400,000 tons per year of green hydrogen (4 GW of electrolysis), several ammonia synthesis loops, and all related balance of plant. Renewable electricity generation sources (wind and solar) are not included in the scope. FEED will be completed in the next 10 months, after which Tecnicas Reunidas and partner Sinopec will be able to present an EPC proposal for the project’s construction.

Exports along the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor

At the same event, ACWA Power, Edison S.p.A., TotalEnergies Renewables, Zhero Europe, and EnBW established a collaborative framework to assess the feasibility of developing multiple large-scale, export-dedicated renewable projects in Saudi Arabia that will form the basis of an energy export corridor to Europe. Cross-border energy transmission corridors were also a feature, and ACWA signed agreements with a number of HVDC technology and cable providers, including Prysmian, GE Vernova, Siemens Energy, and Hitachi.