Neom achieves financial close on mega hydrogen plant: KSA’s Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) has achieved financial close with 23 local, regional, and international banks and financial institutions for its USD 8.4 bn green hydrogen facility, according to a statement. The ambitious project — said to be the world’s largest green hydrogen production facility — will see some USD 6.1 bn provided in non-recourse financing by the banks and investment firms, it said. NGHC is a joint venture between Neom, Acwa Power, and US-based gas supplier Air Products.

Where the money is coming from: The statement did not provide a breakdown of the consortium of financiers, but an earlier statement released by Neom in March said they included First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Saudi National Bank, KFW, JP Morgan, Korea Development Bank, and Credit Agricole.

And that’s not all: NGHC also concluded a USD 6.7 bn agreement with Air Products for the facility's engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), the statement notes. It also secured an exclusive 30-year off-take agreement with the US-based gas supplier for all the green ammonia produced at the plant.

What we know: The mega plant — located at its floating industrial complex Oxagon — will produce up to 600 tons per day of no-carbon hydrogen in the form of green ammonia by the end of 2026, the statement said. It will have the capacity to produce 1.2 mn tons of green ammonia annually. The facility will source its power needs from up to 4 GW of solar and wind energy.

Quite a location: Neom formally launched Oxagon as its integrated net-zero port and logistics hub powered entirely by clean energy. It is set to be home to several industries powered fully by renewables, including sustainable energy, autonomous mobility, water innovation, sustainable food production, health and well-being, technology, and digital manufacturing.

It’s been an eventful month: Neom awarded a USD 2 bn contract for a rail project linking Oxagon to renewable energy-powered The Line city earlier this month. The rail project was awarded to a joint venture of Italy's largest construction company Webuild and Saudi-based leading contractor Shibh Al-Jazira Contracting (Sajco).