Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company Masdar along with Hassan Allam Utilities will launch a strategic platform to establish 4 GW electrolyzer capacity by 2030 in Egypt to produce up to 480,000 tons of green hydrogen annually, using the country's solar and wind energy resources.
The 2 companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with local authorities to develop green hydrogen production plants in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) and on the Mediterranean coast in the country. Their target markets will be Egypt and Europe.
Under phase I, both the partners will establish a green hydrogen manufacturing facility to produce 100,000 tons of e-methanol annually for bunkering in the Suez Canal. It will be operational by 2026. Eventually, the electrolyzer facilities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and in the Mediterranean could be expanded to up to 4 GW to produce 2.3 million tons of green ammonia for export and for green hydrogen to be used for local industries.
Egypt's Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Chairperson of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt, Dr Hala El Said touted abundant solar and wind resources of the country to generate clean electricity at a competitive cost, and its proximity to global markets for green hydrogen supply as Egypt's credentials in the field.
"Today's signing is the fifth of its kind for green fuel production projects inside Sokhna zone, as SCZONE has a distinctive location and pivotal ports overlooking the Red and the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Chairman of SCZone Yehia Zaki. "All the companies now are conducting feasibility studies for the projects in detail to sign and announce the actual contracts in coinciding with the COP27 climate summit next November."
In October 2021, The Sovereign Fund of Egypt partnered with Scatec and Fertiglobe to jointly develop a 50 MW to 100 MW green hydrogen facility as feedstock for green ammonia production in the country's Ain Sokhna (see Scatec Partners With Fertiglobe & TSFE).
Egypt currently aims to increase the share of renewables in the national energy mix to 42% by 2030, but the Ministry of Electricity is set to revise the same to include green hydrogen. The country is also developing a green hydrogen strategy, which Masdar said will be issued by October 2022.