STATIONARY POWER GENERATION
1 MW hydrogen power system for one of the world’s most ambitious energy projects
CLIENT
NEOM (ENOWA)
SECTOR
Off-grid power generation
LOCATION
Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia
AT A GLANCE
1 MW
NET AC POWER OUTPUT
27
PEM FUEL CELL MODULES
7 days
DELIVERY TO COMMISSIONING
50°C
DESIGN AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
NEOM is being built from the ground up in north-west Saudi Arabia, and ENOWA — its energy, water and hydrogen subsidiary — needed a way to bring clean power to places the grid has not yet reached. The first proving ground was the Extreme E Desert X Prix in March 2023: a week-long electric off-road race staged on bare desert with no roads, no electricity and no water supply, where the entire event and its fleet of electric race cars needed reliable, zero-emissions power.
ENOWA set the functional specification and turned to Energys to deliver it: a complete, containerised megawatt-scale hydrogen power system that could be shipped internationally, stand up in days, run autonomously in extreme heat, sand and dust, and then move on to its next deployment.
The engineering challenge: take a megawatt-scale hydrogen system from a Melbourne factory floor to a Saudi desert — and have it running within seven days of arrival.
THE BRIEF
Bring a megawatt of clean power to the middle of the desert
ENERGYS’ SCOPE
What Energys delivered
Energys acted as design authority, manufacturer, system integrator and prime contractor — taking the platform from ENOWA’s functional specification through to a commissioned, operating system on site.
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Energys developed the complete system architecture, integrating 27 PEM fuel cell modules, battery energy storage, power conversion and hydrogen handling into a single containerised platform with black-start capability and autonomous microgrid control. Electrical, mechanical, process, thermal and control disciplines were engineered in parallel, with cooling and air filtration designed specifically for sustained operation in high ambient temperatures and fine airborne sand.
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The system was manufactured and assembled at Energys’ facility in Mulgrave, Victoria, with each fuel cell bank, the balance-of-plant and the control systems integrated and tested as complete modules. Factory acceptance testing verified the full platform before it was packed for international shipment.
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Energys shipped the containerised system to Saudi Arabia and delivered it to a bare desert site with no roads, power or water. The Energys team installed and commissioned the system within seven days of delivery, then supported operation through the event, providing zero-emissions charging for the electric race fleet and power to the wider event infrastructure.
THE SYSTEM
1 MW Containerised Hydrogen Fuel Cell System
Deployed in 2023, this system integrates 27 PEM fuel cell stacks, each rated at 45–50 kW, for 1.3 MW of installed capacity, delivering 1 MW of net AC output through a 1.5 MVA inverter. A 270 kWh LiFePO4 battery energy storage system supports load-following, transient response and black-start capability. Hydrogen handling, balance-of-plant, power conditioning and microgrid control are housed within a fully containerised platform with a footprint of 85.5 m².
Engineered for autonomous operation in a remote desert environment, the platform incorporates a bespoke air-cleaning and filtration system for sandy and dust-laden conditions and integrated cooling for net-rated output at ambient temperatures up to 50 °C. Process water recovered from the fuel cells is captured for reuse on site.
