Cairo – Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly participated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate studies on the implementation of a green hydrogen production plant. The facility would be located in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) and receive about USD 8 billion in investments.
Projections are for the plant’s production to reach 220,000 tonnes a year. The project is expected to feature the participation of Egyptian government agencies such as the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), SCZONE, Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), and the Egyptian sovereign wealth fund, in partnership with Renew Power, one of India’s leading renewable energy companies.
According to the MoU, the Indian company would initially set up a green hydrogen production plant with a 20,000 tonnes a year capacity, which could be expanded using renewable energy sources.
The project is scheduled to be implemented in multiple stages; the first would be producing green hydrogen through a 150-megawatt electrolyzer equipped with 570 megawatts of renewable energy to produce 100,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually.
In the second phase, production would be expanded, and the electrolyzer would have a 1.5-gigawatt capacity, equipped with 5.68 gigawatts of renewable energy, to yield 1 million tonnes of green ammonia a year. At this stage, the goal would be for the project’s capacity to reach 220,000 tonnes a year of green hydrogen.
According to Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker, the renewable energy production sites would be determined by the NREA following the rules, procedures, and regulations in force, and the energy produced would be transferred through the national power grid.
“Egypt has abundant wind and solar energy production resources and is a promising market to become a global force in the green energy value chain,” added the minister.
Engineer Yahya Zaki, chair of SCZONE, spoke on the efforts by the authority alongside all government agencies involved in transitioning to a green economy. Zaki mentioned, in particular, green hydrogen and green ammonia projects and holding the Climate Change Summit (COP) next November in the country.
He also pointed to MoUs signed with international companies and associations to establish green fuel industry projects for exports and clean fuel supply services.
Zaki added that SCZONE seeks to cooperate with India in green hydrogen. In this regard, the institution has made progress through MoUs, some of which are expected to enter into force at the same time Egypt will host the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh.
“We are pleased to partner with one of the leading renewable energy producers in India and the world, Renew Power, as this partnership reflects the interest of global developers specializing in investing in such projects, choosing Egypt as a destination in this field due to its strategic location and renewable energy resources, which make it a regional green energy hub,” said Ayman Soliman, CEO of Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund.
Translated by Ahmed El Nagari & Elúsio Brasileiro
