AKIPRESS.COM - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it helps to decarbonise fertiliser production and power generation in Uzbekistan by financing a pilot renewable hydrogen facility. It will consist of a 20 MW electrolyser and a greenfield 52 MW wind power plant.

The EBRD is offering a financial package of US$ 65 million (€ 58 million) to ACWA Power UKS Green H2 for the development, design, construction and operation of the facility. This special purpose company is jointly owned by ACWA Power (an international developer, investor, co-owner and operator of a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants) and Uzkimyosanoat (UKS), a holding company of state-owned chemical enterprises in Uzbekistan.

The package consists of a US$ 55 million (€ 49 million) senior loan provided by the EBRD as well as concessional finance of up to US$ 10 million (€ 9 million) from Canada under the Special Fund for the High Impact Partnership on Climate Action (HIPCA). The EBRD is also planning to provide an equity bridge loan of up to US$ 5.5 million (€ 4.9 million) for the project.

The plant will be the second renewable hydrogen production project financed by the EBRD following the Bank’s support for a renewable hydrogen facility in Egypt in 2022.

The project supported by the Japan-EBRD Cooperation fund, will help replace grey hydrogen, produced from natural gas and widely used in the production of ammonia fertiliser in Uzbekistan, with renewable hydrogen. The latter is recognised as a key alternative for decarbonising the fertiliser production sector.

Once operational, the facility is expected to produce up to 3,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually and to reduce annual CO2 emissions by around 22,000 tonnes.

HIPCA is supported by Austria, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the TaiwanICDF, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.