Saudi ACWA Power seals 27 deals for green hydrogen and other technologies

ACWA Power, a Saudi Arabian developer, investor and operator of power generation, water desalination, and green hydrogen plants, has signed 27 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) at a recent three-day event to advance green hydrogen, desalination technologies, energy storage systems, and industrial AI.

Held under the patronage of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy in Riyadh, Innovation Days 2026 brought together government entities, research institutions, global technology leaders, and investors, exploring pathways to a resilient, low-carbon energy system aligned with Vision 2030, including Saudi Arabia’s target of 50% renewables by 2030, grid stability priorities, and the role of long-duration energy storage.

“Innovation Days 2026 shows what can be achieved through forward-thinking leadership. Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is becoming a global testbed and scaling engine for integrated water-energy-hydrogen-AI solutions. As such, Innovation Days is a de-facto global leader shaping how technological breakthroughs reach industrial deployment,” said Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA.

“The 27 new partnerships signed highlight the Kingdom’s growing impact on energy, water security, and industrial decarbonization. Acwa is dedicated to connecting Saudi ambition with global innovation, and our move into Shanghai marks an important step in taking Innovation Days international.”

New partnerships that cover the green hydrogen sector include:

• Danish company Topsoe will provide ammonia licensing technology for the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Project.
• ACWA and Baker Hughes will collaborate on advanced green hydrogen technologies at the Yanbu Hydrogen Innovation Hub, focusing on joint research, technical activities, and expertise exchange across hydrogen compression and integrated energy systems.
• ACWA will evaluate Advanced Ionics’ medium-temperature electrochemical platform, which promises improved efficiency and lower capital costs compared to conventional electrolyzers.
• Austria’s clean energy specialist AVL will work with ACWA on solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOEC) and co-electrolysis pathways, which enable the production of synthesis gas for sustainable aviation fuels.
• All respectively, ACWA will assess Shanghai H-Ray S&T’s new PEM electrolysis, trial Power to Hydrogen (P2H2)’s hybrid AEM electrolysis for green hydrogen production, merging alkaline cost benefits with responsiveness for renewables, as well as evaluate SunGreenH2’s precious-metal-free electrolyzers featuring nanostructured electrodes, said to have the potential to dramatically reduce electrolyzer costs while maintaining performance.
• ACWA and ATOM-X will collaborate on one-step electrocatalytic conversion of hydrogen and CO2 into green fuels.
• In a forward-looking partnership with Overview Energy, ACWA will explore space-based solar energy for desalination, hydrogen production, and power generation.
• German EnBW has joined as a co-developer and minority investor in the Yanbu green ammonia project and Japanese trading house ITOCHU has entered as a co-developer, minority investor, and offtaker for the project, bringing J-ECA financing capability.

As for advanced desalination, ACWA is collaborating with Water Global Access (WGA) for the advancement of the Gravitational Vapor Compression Desalination technology toward commercial deployment. Furthermore, the company will work with NexT Membranes (UCLA) to pilot-test compaction-free TFX reverse osmosis membranes, will explore and test Harmony Desalting’s (MIT) Batch Reverse Osmosis systems, which operate membranes in cyclic pressure modes, will deploy Huaxin Nano‘s anti-fouling reverse osmosis membranes for use in commercial desalination projects, and will work with Aleph Tech to apply AI to optimize energy consumption in large-scale desalination plants.

In the energy storage arena, the Saudi company will evaluate Malta‘s thermal energy storage technology, which stores electricity as heat and cold in molten salt and chilled liquid tanks, explore Electrified Thermal Solutions’ (ETS) firebrick thermal storage technology that stores renewable energy as high-temperature heat, and will work to advance Noon Energy‘s multi-day storage technology using carbon-oxygen chemistry, which stores energy for days.

Furthermore, ACWA and Saudi Aramco’s digital subsidiary will explore AI, cloud, data analytics, and cybersecurity solutions across renewable and industrial operations, a ten-year partnership with ThinkProject will focus on digitalizing end-to-end asset lifecycle management across ACWA’s entire portfolio, and a collaboration with China’s Tsinghua University will target renewable energy solutions, dynamic battery storage systems, AI and big data applications, and smart grid technologies.

ACWA and China’s National Innovation Center par Excellence (NICE) have established a framework for R&D cooperation, talent development, and project incubation across renewables, desalination, storage, and hydrogen.

The company will with the New Energy Industry Association for Asia and the Pacific and CleanTech Business Club execute the Global StorageVersity Innovation Challenge and Global Clean Hydrogen Innovation Hackathon, with Morocco’s Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies and CleanTech Business Club unite global clean hydrogen ecosystems and deliver innovation initiatives, and with IRESEN explore innovation opportunities and connect the North African ecosystem to advance joint initiatives in renewable energy and green hydrogen.

Beyond serving as host venue, KACST has established a strategic partnership with ACWA to advance joint innovation initiatives across Saudi Arabia’s priority sectors.