Acwa Power, which is developing a $5 billion green hydrogen-based ammonia production plant in Saudi Arabia’s smart city Neom, plans to "replicate" the project elsewhere, a top executive said.
“Huge capacities” of the fuel are required to meet an anticipated growth in demand, Andrea Lovato, global head of hydrogen at Acwa Power, told The National at the CEBC Annual Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.
In 2020, Acwa Power signed a $5 billion agreement with US-based Air Products and Neom to build the "world’s largest" green hydrogen-based ammonia production centre in the kingdom's $500 billion futuristic city.
The green hydrogen scheme at Neom will use 4 gigawatts of renewable power from solar, wind and storage to produce 650 tonnes a day of hydrogen from electrolysis, using technology supplied by German company Thyssenkrupp, the companies said at the time.
The project, expected to come on stream in 2025, will produce about 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia a year.
Last year, Acwa Power again teamed up with Air Products and Oman’s OQ energy company to create a multibillion-dollar green hydrogen-based ammonia production unit in Oman's Salalah Free Zone.
In October, the company also joined forces with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, a finance institution, to develop projects on green hydrogen and its derivatives worth $10 billion in Africa’s second-largest economy.
Acwa Power also teamed up with Posco Holdings, the holding company of South Korea’s Posco Group, in July last year, to develop green hydrogen.
The entities will also develop green hydrogen derivatives, such as green ammonia, to decarbonise Posco’s power generation and steel making processes, they said at the time.
Globally, 520 million tonnes of hydrogen will be needed to achieve net-zero targets by 2050, the International Energy Agency said.
French investment bank Natixis estimates that investment in hydrogen will exceed $300 billion by 2030.
“To [build] all this capacity, you need a lot of equipment and electrolysers and that will be the bottleneck … in a time everybody is investing in [hydrogen]” Mr Lovato said.
Hydrogen, which is produced from renewable energy and natural gas, is expected to become a critical fuel as economies and industries turn to a low-carbon world.
It comes in various forms, including blue, green and grey. Blue and grey hydrogen are produced from natural gas.
The production of green hydrogen, obtained by electrolysis of water, will require “trillions of dollars” in investment along with increasing co-operation with countries where renewable energy is available, said Mr Lovato.
The Middle East, abundant in renewable energy sources, has “high potential” when it comes to green hydrogen production, given the rising investment in infrastructure and the presence of global industry suppliers, he said.
The Acwa Power executive expects hydrogen to be traded in the market in the next seven to 10 years as more capacity comes online.
The hydrogen market is evolving similar to the liquefied natural gas market, with large projects and long-term off-take agreements, said Mr Lovato.
But a crude oil-style “liquid market” for the clean fuel could emerge in the next decade, he said.
Last year, the International Renewable Energy Agency said that members of the Group of Seven advanced economies could be “front runners” in green hydrogen, but warned that overuse of the fuel could slow the energy transition.
The fuel will “grow alongside” renewables amid increasing demand in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and aluminum, Mr Lovato said.
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
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Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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