Wind

China's Envision bags huge wind turbine deal at Saudi $8.4bn Neom green hydrogen mega-plant

Global number-four supplier to deliver 1.7GW of machines to flagship green fuels project

A rendering of Saudi Arabia's Neom.
A rendering of Saudi Arabia's Neom.Foto: Neom

Envision Energy will supply almost 1.7GW of turbines to the Neom hydrogen mega-plant in Saudi Arabia, in a coup for the Chinese wind sector at one of the world’s highest-profile green energy projects.

Envision will deliver its 6.5MW machines to the Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC)’s plant at Oxagon in the Middle East kingdom, which will link 4GW of wind, solar and batteries to produce up to 600 tonnes a day of green ammonia using more than 2GW of hydrogen electrolysis.

The turbines are expected to be up and running in 2026 said a statement announcing the deal.

NGHC – a joint venture between ACWA Power, Air Products and the vast Saudi Neom future city project – in May announced close of finance on the green fuels plant at a total cost of $8.4bn.

The deal represents one of the biggest deals for a Chinese wind turbine maker outside of China and reflects the growing ambitions of the nation’s OEMs on the international stage.

Envision was the world’s fourth-largest supplier of turbines in 2022 with 8.3GW installed, according to BloombergNEF rankings.

The Chinese group’s CEO Zhang Lei said: "This contract represents a significant milestone for both our companies and the industry at large."

The green fuels facility is just one part of the wider Neom project, an epic Saudi green ‘living laboratory’ the size of Belgium by the Red Sea that when it was unveiled in 2021 was slated to cost $500bn and use 40GW of wind and solar.

Envision did not say where the turbines that will equip Neom will be made, but Saudi Arabia has made no secret of its desire to spur a domestic renewables manufacturing industry.

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Published 6 June 2023, 10:58Updated 6 June 2023, 16:17
EnvisionChinaMiddle East & AfricaNeom