Neom pens financing agreements for green hydrogen plant: The Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) signed facility agreements with Saudi and international banks, submitting a letter of intent to the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) to secure the operating capital for Neom’s USD 5 bn green hydrogen project, according to a statement. Neom will achieve financial close for the project early in 2023, the statement notes.

Financed with help from the government: There is “significant participation” from the SIDF and KSA’s National Infrastructure Fund in the undisclosed financing facilities that Neom will earmark for its project, the statement says, without providing further detail.

What we know about the project: The plant — a JV between Neom, US-based gas supplier Air Products and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power — promises to be the world’s largest utility-scale green hydrogen facility, producing 1.2 mn tons of green ammonia annually. The plant will source its power needs from renewable energy projects totaling nearly 4 GW and is expected to be operational in 2026.

Geared towards export: “100% of the green hydrogen produced will be available for global export, in the form of ammonia, through an exclusive long-term agreement with Air Products,” the statement notes.

And Europe may be getting a slice: Air Products may export larger quantities of the region’s hydrogen to Germany, we previously wrote. The company, along with energy company Mabanaft, will build a green hydrogen terminal in Germany to facilitate imports, according to a company statement. The project, which is set to become operational by 2026, will be located in Hamburg’s port, facilitating the import of green ammonia from large-scale green hydrogen production facilities operated by Air Products and its partners — including Neom. Greece has also been exploring green hydrogen imports from Saudi’s Neom, with plans to lay a cable connecting Saudi to Europe, we reported in October.