ACWA Power, PowerChina break ground on first green hydrogen plant in Uzbekistan
Saudi-listed ACWA Power (2082.SE) and Chinese state-owned PowerChina have broken ground on the first green hydrogen plant in Uzbekistan on Nov 29th. The project was attended by Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan, and Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Investment, Saudi Arabia.
The plant, which is also the first green hydrogen production project in Central Asia, will produce 3,000 metric tons green hydrogen per annum and will be powered by a wind farm, according to announcements of ACWA Power and Chinese industry media.
PowerChina, the general contractor for the project, said it was the company's first overeas green hydrogen project and more are expected soon. The company signed contracts with ACWA Power during the 3rd Belt and Road Initiative Summit in Beijing to jointly develop green hydrogen projects in Uzbekistan.
The project has two phases. The first phase, a 3,000 tonne green hydrogen pilot project, is already underway following the signing of the hydrogen purchase and power purchase agreements in May 2023. Second phase is under FEED stage now and it plans to build a 500,000 tonnes of green ammonia capacity, the power will be sourced from a newly built 2.4 GW wind farm nearby.
When the two phases of the project are fully operational, it will be ACWA Power’s second utility-scale green hydrogen project after the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project in Saudi Arabia, which is a joint venture between ACWA Power, NEOM and Air Products.
PowerChina also said the plant was an important energy project within China's Belt and Road initiative (BRI). A study shows that over half of China's energy investment under BRI is now going to renewable energy.
See our previous report:
Green hydrogen enters stage of BRI - by Jian Wu
About ACWA Power
ACWA Power a developer, investor and operator of power, desalinated water and green hydrogen plants with 77 assets in operation, construction or advance development across 12 countries. ACWA Power is a private owned company headquartered in Saudi Arabia.
About PowerChina
PowerChina is one of the largest EPC companies globally dedicated to construction of low-carbon power, water and environmental infrastructure business. It ranks 1st among the Top 150 Global Design Firms by ENR and 6th among the Top 250 Global Contractors by ENR. Founded in 2011 as a restructure of Sinohydro Construction Group and several other energy consulting and engineering assets, PowerChina is a state-owned corporation headquartered in Beijing.