(Dortmund / Neom) – The US manufacturer of industrial gases Air Products has commissioned Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers GmbH to supply an electrolysis system with an output of more than two gigawatts. 
The location for this green hydrogen project is the industrial area of the Neom model region in the far northwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Thyssenkrupp will develop, procure and manufacture the system based on a 20-megawatt large-scale module for alkaline water electrolysis, the company said. The operator will later be the Neom Green Hydrogen Company, a joint venture between Neom, the Saudi energy supplier ACWA Power and Air Products. The hydrogen produced is reportedly synthesized into carbon-free ammonia and exported by Air Products. Production is scheduled to begin in 2026.
Electrolysis plants on a world scale
The agreement for a hydrogen-based Ammonia production plant Air Products and ACWA Power had already announced in July 2020. Commissioning was scheduled for 2025 at the time. A few days earlier, Air Products and Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers had signed a “strategic cooperation agreement for world-scale electrolysis plants” to produce green hydrogen.
Samir J. Serhan, Chief Operating Officer at Air Products, underlines the importance of the project: “The development and implementation of this innovative megaproject is one of many that are necessary for a successful energy transition.” Denis Krude, CEO of Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers, believes his company is well positioned to implement the gigawatt project: “With our standard module size and our gigawatt cell production capacity, together with our joint venture partner De Nora, we are able to implement large projects today.”
Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers was founded as a joint venture between Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions and the Italian industrial group De Nora SpA. The joint venture, headquartered in Dortmund, was created in 2015 through the integration of the electrolysis businesses of the previously separate companies Thyssenkrupp Electrolysis, Uhdenora and Chlorine Engineers. The majority shareholder is Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions.
Gigawatt factory for solar modules in Tabuk
In mid-November 2021, the English-language newspaper “Arab News” reported that Saudi Arabia opened the largest solar module factory in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region in Tabuk Industrial City. 
The production capacity is 1,2 gigawatts and investments amount to 700 million Saudi riyals (165 million euros). The facility is strategically located near the Neom Giga projects. Neom is a future project of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It is intended to function as an independent economic zone connecting the markets of Asia, Europe and Africa. One million people will one day live and work there with the most advanced technologies. The Neom master plan also includes a 170-kilometer belt, called “The Line,” that connects new communities without cars and roads. The end of November came “Oxagon“, an octagonal floating structure that will house smart, clean factories from seven industries from 2022.
Volocopter is supposed to deliver aircraft
Furthermore, an agreement was reached in early December between Saudi Arabia's $500 billion supercity and Germany's Volocopter GmbH to initiate the world's first public air taxi logistics. Neom is initially ordering 15 units of the aircraft from the company based in Bruchsal, Baden-Württemberg, which are scheduled to begin trial operation within the next two to three years.
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Neom Co. headquarters in the northwest of the Kingdom. © Neom
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Samir J. Serhan (Air Products) and Denis Krude (Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers) sign the contract for one of the largest green hydrogen projects in the world © Thyssenkrupp
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Location of Neom in Saudi Arabia. © iStock Peter Hermes Furian
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