According to Andrea Lovato, the company’s executive vice president and global head of hydrogen, Oman’s proposed hydrogen plant in the country’s Dhofar region is expected to begin commercial operation before 2029.
The integrated green hydrogen and ammonia complex, which is estimated to be worth $7 billion, is being built by ACWA in collaboration with US-based Air Products and Oman’s national energy company OQ.
The three businesses agreed on a preliminary memorandum of understanding in December 2021, and in May this year, they signed a cooperative development agreement for the multibillion-dollar complex.
According to Lovato, MEED, “is an integrated initiative that will create hydrogen, notably very low carbon hydrogen.”
He continued, “Oman is the second one that has been revealed and it is still in the early phases. The objective is to reproduce this technique in several regions to lower costs. In 2027 or 2028, commercial operations are anticipated to begin.
According to Lovato, the project is anticipated to mimic the procedures established for a comparable hydrogen and ammonia complex being created in the $500 billion future city NEOM, which is being constructed in northwest Saudi Arabia.
In collaboration with NEOM Co., ACWA Power, and Air Products is building the facility in NEOM.
“Only a broad time range has been established thus far, not a precise time. It is the second one that will follow the same methodology as NEOM,” said Lovato, who is also ACWA Power’s acting head of renewable development.
According to a tweet from OQ in December, the upcoming green hydrogen plant in Salalah Free Zone will be able to create up to 1 million tons of green ammonia annually.
The joint venture project, according to ACWA Electricity, will be built on “established, world-class technology” and feature elements like green ammonia manufacturing facilities, electrolysis plants, air separation units, and renewable power from solar, wind, and battery energy storage.
The green ammonia production facility using hydrogen is intended to have equal stakes from the project partners.
