Saudi renewables developer ACWA Power has appointed energy services company Kent as owner’s engineer for the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub, marking an important step forward for the Kingdom’s largest electrolysis project.

ACWA is developing the project together with German energy firm EnBW at the port city of Yanbu on the Red Sea. At full scale, it is expected to deploy more than 4GW of electrolysers, making it nearly twice the size of the existing Saudi Neom project.

Yanbu’s first phase is scheduled to start commercial operations in 2030, with production at full scale expected to be up to 400,000t/yr of green hydrogen. This will be converted into more than 2.2mt/yr of green ammonia for international markets.

The project, which has not yet reached FID, will be fitted with its own dedicated renewable power generation, desalination plants, ammonia production lines and an export terminal.

“We are proud to be supporting ACWA Power on a project of such global significance,” said John Gilley, CEO of Kent. “Our role as owner’s engineer allows us to bring together deep technical expertise and a long history of managing complex energy projects, helping to lay the foundations for safe, scalable and sustainable hydrogen infrastructure.”

Kent will act as ACWA Power’s technical representative throughout the FEED phase being deliver through a joint venture between Tecnicas Reunidas and Sinopec.

The Kent team will provide independent oversight and assurance to support safe, efficient and technically robust project delivery. Kent’s responsibilities include ensuring engineering design compliance with international standards, reviewing safety and constructability, managing technical interfaces and integration across the various workstreams, and advising on risk and design optimisation. The team will also support ACWA Power in planning the transition into the engineering, procurement and construction phase.

Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA Power, described Yanbu as a “monumental step forward in realising Saudi Arabia’s green hydrogen ambitions”.

“This project highlights our commitment to innovation, scale, and delivering a sustainable and secure energy future,” he said.  “Our partnership with Kent will ensure the project benefits from world-class technical oversight as we progress towards final investment decision and construction.”

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Author: Stuart Penson