Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power is set to develop Uzbekistan’s first green hydrogen facility and green ammonia project that will support ongoing decarbonisation efforts.

The utility firm has just signed “extensive heads of terms agreements” with the Central Asian country’s Ministry of Energy and Uzkimyosanoat, a state-owned chemical company, to set up a green hydrogen facility and a pilot project for a green ammonia plant.

The green hydrogen facility is expected to generate 3,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. It will be connected to an existing ammonia plant in Chirchiq, located 45 kilometres from Tashkent, the country’s capital.

The green hydrogen project is expected to reduce carbon emissions in the chemical industry and “contribute to the global effort to decarbonise”, according to a statement on Thursday.

“Green hydrogen is considered to be the fuel of the future and we are confident of applying our global expertise in accelerating the development of this vital source of clean energy for Uzbekistan,” said Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power.

In the second project, ACWA Power will set up a pilot project for a 500,000-tonne green ammonia facility. It is expected to reduce Uzbekistan’s dependence on natural gas by 600 million cubic metres per year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 million tonnes annually.