Egypt Seals Deal For 2 GW Solar Manufacturing Hub

Egypt signed a land usufruct contract for the Atum Solar Egypt project, a multinational initiative to develop a 2 GW solar cell and module manufacturing complex, along with energy storage production facilities, in the Sokhna Industrial Zone. 

The project will be built by a partnership between companies from 4 nations, namely AH Industrial Management from Egypt, Global South Utilities (GSU) from the UAE, Bahrain’s Infinity Capital, and China’s JA Solar. The land use agreement grants these companies usage rights and associated benefits. 

According to Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS), the project will comprise an annual production capacity of 2 GW for solar cells, 2 GW for solar modules, and 1 GWh for energy storage systems (ESS) in the Sokhna Industrial Zone, which is part of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone. 

All of the solar cell output will be exported to global markets to fill the growing import gap, but the solar modules rolled out will be consumed locally in Egypt and also shipped to the regional markets of the Middle East and Africa. The partners also promised to gradually increase the share of local content, including aluminum and glass.

Estimated to cost EGP 11 billion ($226 million), the project is targeted for implementation over the next 3 years. It will generate 841 direct job opportunities within Egypt.

JA Solar had earlier announced plans for 4 GW solar cell and module production in Egypt under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GSU (see JA Solar Headed To Egypt For 4 GW Solar Cell & Module Production). 

In June this year, China’s Sunrev Solar launched a $200 million vertically integrated solar manufacturing facility in Egypt for 2 GW of solar cell and module production (see China’s Sunrev Begins $200 Million Solar Manufacturing Venture in Egypt).