NEOM's Green Hydrogen Plant: What Green Ammonia Means for Saudi and the Gulf Economy

NEOM Green Hydrogen Company, a venture between NEOM, ACWA Power and Air Products, is nearing completion of the world's largest green hydrogen-based ammonia plant in northwest Saudi Arabia, expected to start operations in December 2026, according to NEOM.com.

The facility will use solar and wind energy to produce up to 600 tonnes of green hydrogen daily, converting it into around 1.2 million tonnes per year of green ammonia for export and industry.

Current ammonia production globally is highly carbon-intensive, accounting for roughly 450 million tonnes of direct CO2 emissions per year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports.

This project aims to replace fossil-fueled ammonia with ammonia made from renewable electricity and water. By using solar and wind, the plant avoids the massive carbon emissions typical of traditional ammonia production, offering a cleaner input for fertilisers, steel manufacturing, and shipping fuels.

Ammonia plays a key role as a hydrogen carrier. Since hydrogen itself is difficult to store and move, converting it to ammonia makes transport and storage easier for global trade.

There are still limits: green hydrogen and ammonia cost more to make than fossil-based rivals, and global volumes remain very small. IEA data shows low-emissions hydrogen is still less than 1 percent of total hydrogen output. Cost cuts, bigger plants, and reliable long-term buyers will be needed for the technology to scale up.

For now, this is an early stage play. It signals where investment and policy are moving, not a sweeping market shift yet. Delays and cancellations in global hydrogen projects are common, according to the IEA Global Hydrogen Review 2025.