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EBRD kicks in finance for Acwa’s green hydrogen project in Uzbekistan: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will extend a USD 65 mn financing package to fund Saudi renewables giant Acwa Power’s green hydrogen project in Uzbekistan, according to a statement. The project aims to support the decarbonization of the Central Asian country’s ammonia sector and increase renewable energy generation.
What we know: The EBRD is providing a USD 65 mn package that consists of a USD 55 mn senior loan and up to USD 10 mn in concessional finance from Canada’s Special Fund for the High Impact Partnership on Climate Action. The EBRD said it also plans to add an equity bridge loan of up to USD 5.5 mn. The financing package will be offered to Acwa Power UKS Green H2 — a special purpose company that is jointly owned by Acwa Power and Uzbekistan’s holding company of state-owned chemical firms Uzkimyosanoat.
About the plant: Acwa’s green hydrogen plant — expected to be commissioned in December 2024 — includes a 20 MW electrolyser fed by a 52 MW wind power plant in the Bukhara region to produce 3k tons of green hydrogen annually. Acwa Power broke ground on the project in November last year and signed the terms of agreement with the Uzbek Energy Ministry and Uzkimyosanoat for developing the plant back in January 2023.
Not the EBRD’s first hydrogen endeavor: The project in Uzbekistan is the second renewable hydrogen production project to be financed by the EBRD since it provided a USD 80 mn loan to help set up Egypt’s first integrated green hydrogen plant in 2022. The project is being developed by a consortium comprising UAE-based urea and ammonia exporter Fertiglobe, Norway’s Scatec, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, and Orascom Construction.
