A planned UK facility seen as critical to the world’s largest green hydrogen project, the $8.4 billion development at Saudi Arabia’s Neom, has been put on hold, raising questions over how the fuel will reach buyers in Britain.
US-based industrial gas company Air Products, the exclusive off-taker for hydrogen from the Neom Green Hydrogen Company, has paused development of its £2 billion ($2.7 billion) terminal at the port of Immingham due to uncertainty over UK government incentives.
The Immingham Green Energy Terminal was designed to import green ammonia from Neom and convert it back into hydrogen for British industrial use, linking Saudi exports with one of the G7’s largest economies and supporting the UK’s clean energy goals.
It received planning approval in February and was expected to produce 76,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually – enough to power nearly a million UK homes or offset the emissions of around 300,000 cars.
“We are seeking regulatory clarity before advancing decisions around our European downstream investments, including Immingham,” Air Products said in a statement to AGBI.
“We continue to engage with the UK government to determine whether the necessary policy support can be put in place to enable firm customer commitments.”
Hydrogen is difficult and expensive to ship over long distances, so it is converted to green ammonia – a more stable form that is easier and cheaper to ship – and then “cracked” back into hydrogen at destination terminals.
However current UK policy excludes imported green ammonia from subsidy schemes aimed at supporting domestic hydrogen production, making projects like Immingham financially unviable.
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