Gulf News, Wednesday, Oct 27, 2021 | Rabi Al-Awwal 20, 1443\

Saudi Aramco plans new green hydrogen, ammonia project

State-controlled energy giant Saudi Aramco has signed an initial agreement to build a new green hydrogen and ammonia plant with Hong Kong-based green hydrogen developer InterContinental Energy, as it tries to bring private investment into the sector.

The agreement also includes Saudi firm Modern Industrial Investment Holding, Aramco said today. No other details such as the size or location of the project were revealed.

Intercontinental Energy is already developing two huge hydrogen and ammonia plants in Australia and one in Oman.

The announcement was made during Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, just days after crown prince Mohammed bin Salman set a goal for the country to become net carbon neutral by 2060. Aramco itself aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its wholly-owned operated assets a decade earlier.

Saudi Arabia is targeting hydrogen production — both blue and green — of 2.9mn t/yr by 2030 and 4mn t/yr by 2035. Its first green hydrogen project, at Neom in the country's northwest, will produce only 240,000 t/yr by 2025.

At the same time, Aramco is expanding its focus on emerging sectors to drive private-sector innovation and investment. Intercontinental Energy's hydrogen deal was among five initial agreements signed by Aramco covering nature-based solutions to reduce emissions, manufacturing advanced non-metallic building materials, and digital technologies for oil and gas applications.