ACWA Power and Snam form green hydrogen and ammonia alliance

Saudi company ACWA Power and Italy’s energy infrastructure operator Snam have agreed to explore collaboration opportunities and joint investments in establishing a green hydrogen supply chain from Saudi Arabia to Europe.

To bolster their partnership, ACWA Power and Snam signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to look into potential investments aimed at establishing a “dependable and cost-effective” international supply chain between Saudi Arabia and Europe.

In addition, the companies vowed to evaluate the development of an ammonia import terminal in Italy to facilitate the delivery of green hydrogen through the South H2 Corridor, the 3,300-kilometer corridor reaching central Europe through Italy, Austria, and Germany. The corridor is a part of the European Hydrogen Backbone.

“We are excited to join forces with Snam to drive significant advancements in the green hydrogen sector. With power sector emissions already down 40% compared to 20 years ago, we now need to focus our collective efforts on new, low carbon molecules to decarbonise our sectors. Bringing our expertise together will help accelerate this process,” said Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA Power.

Stefano Venier, the CEO of Snam, added: “The EU’s ambitious decarbonisation targets need decisive action across all manufacturing sectors, utilising all available technologies in a practical, efficient and accelerated manner. Hydrogen plays a key-role here, and we are glad to pursue development opportunities in this field also through agreements like the one we signed with ACWA Power: the development of the ammonia import terminal is synergic with that of the South H2 Corridor.”

The MoU with Snam is one of several agreements that ACWA Power signed during the visit of the Italian Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia, on the sidelines of the Saudi-Italian High Level Roundtable Meeting in AlUla, aiming to foster collaboration across project finance, insurance, energy generation, and water desalination technologies.

The agreements were signed with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the Italian financial Institution for Development Cooperation; De Nora, a multi-national company specializing in water treatment technologies; SACE, the Italian Export Credit Agency; and Ansaldo Energia, a power generation equipment manufacturer.

According to ACWA Power, they encompass project financing, technology transfer and supply chain collaboration to support development in regions such as Africa, Central Asia and the Far East.

What is more, the Saudi company’s Italian partnerships are expected to further strengthen EU-MENA cooperation in green energy, positioning the company as a key player in the global energy transition.

In Europe, ACWA Power is also working with GasLog, Zenith Energy Terminals, and Port of Amsterdam to explore the viability of developing a green hydrogen export corridor between its global hydrogen production sites and the port of Amsterdam.