CAIRO: Saudi-based power generation and water desalination company ACWA Power has signed an agreement to develop Uzbekistan’s first green hydrogen and ammonia facilities. The agreement was signed with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy and Uzkimyosanoat, a state-owned chemicals company, with a targeted commissioning date of December 2024. The project is set to be connected to an existing ammonia plant in Chirchiq, 45 kilometers from the country’s capital Tashkent, and is expected to generate 3,000 tons of green hydrogen a year. “Uzbekistan has emerged as one of the most exciting growth countries for ACWA Power in recent years and is our biggest investment geography outside of the Kingdom. We are proud that our giga scale development experience in green hydrogen is making us the preferred choice of partners across the world,” Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman at ACWA Power, said. ACWA Power will oversee the full value chain of integration to this existing infrastructure project to green hydrogen, which is expected to improve the service factor of the facility and reduce its dependence on natural gas. The green ammonia project will involve the development of a 500,000-ton green ammonia feasibility study that is set to reduce Uzbekistan’s dependence on natural gas by 600 million cubic meters per year as well as cut carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 million tons a year. “As the world continues to grapple with the increasing and devastating impact of climate change, the right solutions are the need of the hour. 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,” Abunayyan added. ACWA Power already has five existing projects in Uzbekistan including four wind projects and a combined gas cycle turbine facility. Uzbekistan stands as the second largest market for ACWA Power in terms of value after Saudi Arabia. “We value our collaboration with our long-standing partners, ACWA Power and Uzkimyonosat, and fully support the integration of green hydrogen and its derivatives, which will serve the energy vision of our country,” said Jurabek Mirzamahmudov, Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan. Verbund will use the hydrogen produced by the region’s projects as a renewable energy source for Central Europe, primarily Austria, as per the MoU.