Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power has signed preliminary agreements to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to Europe under the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project.
A multi-party deal was signed by Acwa Power with Italy's Edison, France's TotalEnergies Renewables, Zhero Europe from Netherlands and Germany's EnBW, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said on Sunday.
"This deal establishes a collaborative framework to assess the market demand and feasibility of developing large-scale renewable energy projects dedicated for export in Saudi Arabia and the creation of a corridor to deliver generated electricity to Europe," it said.
Acwa Power also signed individual pacts with companies involved in the development of electricity corridors, including technical consultant Cesi (Italy) and HVDC technology and cable providers Prysmian (Italy), GE Vernova, Siemens Energy (Germany) and Hitachi (France).
"These agreements aim to develop advanced energy transmission corridors that enhance supply reliability and the efficiency of cross-border energy infrastructure," the ministry said.
A joint development agreement was also signed with EnBW to collaborate on the first phase of the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub, which is planned to be ready for commercial operations by 2030.
The hub seeks to be a fully integrated base with its own captive electricity generation from renewable sources, desalination plants to support its hydrogen electrolysis and ammonia conversion facilities, and an export terminal.
The project leverages Saudi Arabia’s potential to develop renewable energy at competitive rates and supply global industrial demand, the ministry said.
The latest pacts, which were signed in Riyadh, are part of the IMEC, which was announced during the G20 summit in 2023. The project consists of an eastern route connecting India to the Gulf and a northern pathway connecting the Gulf to Europe.
The cross-border, ship-to-rail transit corridors are expected to reduce shipping costs across the network and support trade in goods and services to, from and between the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and Europe.
The combined exports from these regions are projected to account for 44 per cent of global trade by 2030.
Acwa Power, backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is one of the largest renewable energy developers in the Middle East. It currently has operations in 14 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Central and South-east Asia.
It is an investor in and operator of 101 power generation and water desalination projects in operation, construction and advanced development with an overall portfolio size of about $107.5 billion as of February.
Last week, Saudi Arabia signed agreements worth more than 31 billion riyals ($8.3 billion) for seven renewable energy projects with an Acwa Power-led consortium to boost the kingdom’s green energy capacity.
In February, Acwa Power also signed a preliminary agreement with the German company Securing Energy for Europe (Sefe) to produce and supply green hydrogen to Europe.
Under the pact, Acwa Power and Sefe will establish a hydrogen bridge between Saudi Arabia and Germany, with an initial target of supplying 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030.
Acwa Power will act as the lead developer, investor, and operator of green hydrogen and green ammonia production assets. Sefe will be a co-investor and the primary off-taker to market the green hydrogen to its German and European customers, the companies said at the time.
The Saudi company is also a partner in the $5 billion Neom Green Hydrogen project, the world’s largest, which is expected to be completed next year. The other venture partners are Neom and the US-based Air Products, which has secured an off-take agreement for all the green ammonia produced at the site.
