RIYADH — Hyzon Motors Inc. (Hyzon), a leading global supplier of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell-powered commercial vehicles, jointly with Modern Industrial Investment Holding Group (Modern Group), a Saudi industrial conglomerate, on Thursday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with NEOM Company for the development of a vehicle assembly facility in NEOM. NEOM, the $500 billion giga-project in northwest Saudi Arabia. is committed to becoming fully sustainable, powering itself through the use of 100 percent renewable energy and with net-zero emissions by 2030. A green hydrogen ecosystem will play a vital role both for the export of renewable energy and for net-zero carbon technologies for power and transportation in NEOM. Various global corporations have already committed to invest over $5 billion to produce green hydrogen in NEOM in the world’s largest hydrogen production plant. It is expected NEOM will become an area with one of the highest concentrations of green hydrogen production and investment in the world. Hyzon aims to be at the forefront of providing heavy-duty commercial fleet vehicles into NEOM which would act as a showcase to the wider Kingdom and beyond. Hyzon, Modern Group and NEOM Company plan to work closely over the next 18 months to finalize plans and specifications for the new regional assembly facility, with an anticipated annual capacity to assemble up to 10,000 vehicles. To facilitate the construction of the new facility, Hyzon and Modern Group plan to incorporate a joint venture company, Hyzon Motors Middle East (ME), which would focus on supplying locally-built, Hyzon-branded zero-emission commercial vehicles throughout Saudi Arabia and the GCC. NEOM is part of the world-class, diversified portfolio of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. Commenting on the MoU, Craig Knight, CEO and co-founder of Hyzon Motors, said: “We see NEOM as one of the world’s most innovative and ambitious global decarbonization developments. Hyzon’s technology is at the forefront of hydrogen-powered vehicles and fuel cell solutions and has been developed over many years. We are proud to be partnering with the Modern Industrial Investment Holding Group to bring emissions-free vehicles to NEOM and the region. Hydrogen is a key fuel to power global heavy-duty commercial transport, liberating it from dependence on fossil fuels. This project is showing the way for resource-rich GCC countries to achieve the energy transition, and Hyzon’s partnership with Modern will help to make this a reality.” Abdulaziz F. Al Hamwah, CEO and co-founder of Modern Industrial Investment Holding Group commented: “Modern Group is excited at the prospect of teaming with Hyzon to enable NEOM’s goal of a net zero community, and to localize manufacturing of Hyzon’s zero-emission commercial and heavy duty vehicles. But this is only the first step. Through our joint venture, Hyzon Motors Middle East, we aim to integrate hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles into economies across the region. This partnership is a great step toward making that a reality.” Roland Kaeppner, executive director, hydrogen & green fuels, NEOM Company, said: “NEOM is developing a multi-dimensional hydrogen ecosystem and is a perfect location to activate hydrogen-based technologies and applications for use in NEOM and beyond. Given its strategic geographic location and its impact as a lighthouse for innovation and future livability, localized manufacturing is a natural consequence as NEOM develops. Partnering with Hyzon and Modern Group will expedite NEOM’s self-sufficiency ambitions and is a great opportunity to showcase hydrogen-electric applications that are complementary to battery-electric solutions, in particular for heavy-duty and long-range logistics. We see hydrogen as the most viable solution to power the world of tomorrow and this is a further demonstration of our commitment to creating the world’s first net-zero carbon, sustainable city.” Erik Anderson, CEO of Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation, commented: “Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation was established with the express purpose of identifying a business built upon the objective of disruptive innovation to upend existing frameworks to decarbonize global industries. Hyzon is, at its core, a technology platform with a myriad of downstream applications. The hydrogen future across a wide variety of transportation use cases — including heavy-duty truck transportation, coaches and buses — is unfolding as we had anticipated it would, and we could not be more pleased to see Hyzon identified as a leading platform to hasten the transportation transformation. Further, we always believed the promise would be global. The ability for the Gulf to capitalize on its abundant and plentiful access to solar and wind to become a leader in the development of green hydrogen can unlock enormous, near-term solutions with significant commercial opportunity as global transportation categories rapidly seek alternatives to diesel and traditional fuels. We are extremely excited about the future for this effort and congratulate the Hyzon team and commend the vision of Modern and NEOM in charting a path to a net-zero future.” The MoU sets out the current aims of the parties with respect to the assembly facility and vehicle delivery, but such aims will not constitute binding obligations on any party thereto until definitive agreements are executed. — SG