Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Co has signed a deal with the government of Uzbekistan to build a green hydrogen plant near the capital Tashkent and a green ammonia pilot facility as part of an ambitious investment programme in the Central Asian country.
The Riyadh-based company has signed heads of terms agreements with the country’s Ministry of Energy and state-owned chemicals company Uzkimyosanoat. Under the terms, ACWA Power will set up a plant in the city of Chirchiq to produce 3,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually, starting at the end of 2024. The hydrogen facility will be connected to an existing ammonia plant in the area to reduce of use of natural gas at it.
“While we take pride in getting this initiative off the ground on fast-track basis, we aim to ensure our readiness and establish the right framework and policies that will serve as the foundation for accelerating the development of green hydrogen projects in the future,” Uzbekistan's minister of energy Jurabek Mirzamahmudov commented on the planned rapid development of the project.
As part of the second project, ACWA Power will conduct a feasibility study for the development of a green ammonia facility with the capacity to produce 500,000 tonnes of green ammonia. This would reduce Uzbekistan's consumption of natural gas by 600 million cubic metres per year. The study should be completed by the end of 2024.
The latest deals come on the heels of three major energy agreements with a total investment of USD 12 billion (EUR 11.07bn) that ACWA Power inked with the Uzbek government in August 2022. The plans involve gas-to-power, wind power, hydroelectric and green hydrogen projects as well as a 1.5-GW onshore wind project in the region of Karakalpakstan. In December, a 25-year power purchase agreement was secured for the huge wind project with the National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan.
“Uzbekistan has emerged as one of the most exciting growth countries for ACWA Power in recent years and is our biggest investment geography outside of KSA," said ACWA Power's chairman Mohammad Abunayyan. (January 19, 2023)
UZBEKISTAN - GREENH2 - Production