The NEOM subsidiary ENOWA, which specializes in water, energy, and hydrogen, has established the region’s first Hydrogen and Innovation Development Center (HIDC). This new facility in NEOM’s advanced manufacturing and innovation city is designed to accelerate innovation and business development for hydrogen, green fuel production, utilization and transportation.
HIDC will be a testing ground for clean energy technologies and a community of research institutions focused on hydrogen and circular carbon economies (CCE). Saudi Aramco and HIDC plan to produce and deploy decarbonized and clean synthetic fuels through these collaborations. With the new facility, the Kingdom will be able to accelerate its move to become a global leader in clean energy and innovation.
It will be the first 20 MW electrolyzer from ThyssenKrupp Nucera used for NEOM Green Hydrogen Company’s (NGHC) world’s largest green hydrogen and ammonia plant scheduled to open in 2023. HIDC will also advance ENOWA’s plans with Air Products Qudra to test advanced hydrogen fuel cell-based mobility and logistics solutions in NEOM via H2 mobility.
With the rapid commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell technology, HIDC’s pipeline of projects also features hydrogen fuel cell filling stations and distribution systems for zero-emission cars, buses, trucks, and other clean energy applications. The Hydrogen Innovation Development Center (HIDC) will work with Aramco, Air Products, and ACWA Power to validate hydrogen innovations and demonstrate the potential for upscaling across the Kingdom.
Further, HIDC will work closely with Aramco on developing synthetic fuels. Utilizing HIDC’s green hydrogen capabilities, Aramco will be able to develop its flagship in-house synthetic fuels program faster and demonstrate the feasibility of producing synthetic fuels. HIDC will also be able to leverage Aramco’s experience in engineering, energy logistics, and fuels research and development, aligning with Aramco’s efforts to explore the potential to support the global energy transition with hydrogen-based low carbon fuels.
With NEOM’s unmatched solar, wind and water resources, ENOWA can generate large quantities of green hydrogen that can be used by multiple industries in the Kingdom. Recently, green hydrogen has gained popularity as the next wave in the energy transition, with a wide range of applications as a power source, e-fuel, chemical, and fertilizer. NEOM plans to use green hydrogen as power at scale and pave the way for the hydrogen economy worldwide.