Norway based renewable power producer Scatec has partnered with Fertiglobe, an ammonia producer jointly owned by OCI N.V. and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE). The three parties want to develop a 50-100 MW green hydrogen facility as feedstock for green ammonia production. The facility, which will be located near Egypt Basic Industries Corporation (EBIC) in Ain Sokhna, is considered to be the first step towards developing a green hydrogen hub in Egypt.
The role of Scatec will be to build, operate and majorly own the facility. A long-term off-take agreement will be entered into with Fertiglobe's subsidiary EBIC. This partnership is aligned to Scatec's strategic initiative of enabling and realising industrial projects that will contribute to reducing the carbon emissions through the provision of competitive renewable energy.
Talking about the partnership, Scatec CEO Raymond Carlsen said, "We are proud to establish a strong partnership with Fertiglobe and TSFE to move the green agenda forward in Egypt. The development of this green hydrogen project builds on our long experience in project development, financing, and delivery of renewable energy projects in emerging markets. We see green hydrogen as a natural part of our strategy and the renewable ecosystem in the years to come."
CEO of OCI N.V., Ahmed El-Hoshy also echoed similar sentiments and said, " Together we will deploy world-leading technology to ramp up our green ammonia production profile and further expand our low-carbon portfolio. Meanwhile, CEO of TSFE Ayman Soliman commented, "We are pleased to be partnering to provide a unique investment product that creates financial returns while nurturing the green economy at large."
All the parties will seek support from the Egyptian government for required regulatory approvals and sourcing of competitive renewable power from the grid. This is being done with the intention of building out new solar and wind capacity to power Egypt's green hydrogen ambitions in the years to come.
As for the facility, the required engineering and development, including structuring of commercial agreements, will start soon with a target investment decision in 2022 and start-up of the hydrogen facility by 2024.
In June, Scatec expanded its international presence by formally announcing its entry into the Indian solar market, in partnership with local solar project developer ACME (see Scatec Forays Into India In Partnership With ACME)