A plethora of new agreements may pave the way for over USD 40 billion in investments in green hydrogen and renewable energy to reach Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone.
The administration of the North African nation inked seven memorandums of understanding (MoU) with foreign developers, potentially bringing in the funds over ten years.
An estimated USD 12 billion will be invested in a trial programme, with an additional USD 29 billion going toward the first phase.
Among those in attendance at the deal signing was Ayman Suleiman, CEO of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt.
“Today’s signature reflects the increasing interest of companies to join the Egyptian Green Hydrogen Programme, which reflects the state’s going in the right direction by creating a landmark, fully funded programme,” he said, while adding, “the Fund receives constant and increasing interest from investors in green hydrogen projects.”
Amidst the signing of the agreements, which included the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the New and Renewable Energy Authority, was Egypt’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly.
Among the private sector representatives were Ihab Damian from Gamma Construction & Meridiam, Jawo Kunha, CEO of operations at Smart Energy, and Kofi Osu Bembah, CEO of Bash Global.
Among the other executives in attendance were Kamel Abdulhamid Al-Sawi, head of the United Energy Group branch in Egypt; Mohammed Tawakkul, board member of Al-Tawakkul Gila; and Yahya Abu Al-Hassan, business development manager of IMM Power.
Minister of Planning Hala El-Said said that Egypt’s sovereign fund aims to position the nation as a regional centre for renewable energy.
The minister also described how the fund has already been successful in starting the first integrated green ammonia production plant in Africa, and that the most recent agreements signal the start of new projects and investment alliances that will all help to realise the objectives of the “National Green Hydrogen Strategy.”
The goal of that November 2023 agreement is to have Egypt make up 5–8% of the world market for hydrogen.
By 2040, the plan aims to cut carbon emissions by 40 million tonnes annually.
Additionally, in November, Fertiglobe’s CEO, Ahmed El-Hoshy, announced the company’s first shipment of renewable ammonia, calling it a “breakthrough in producing and supplying renewable ammonia to the world” from the Egyptian facility.
November 2023 was a historic month for Egypt’s green energy goals, as the Suez Canal Economic Zone inked a USD 15.6 billion deal with well-known Chinese businesses to support efforts aimed at generating renewable fuels.
These agreements will result in the creation of eleven projects and almost nine thousand new jobs.
Meanwhile, SK Ecoplant, a South Korean construction and plant operation company, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) will establish a plant to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia within the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).
The project, set to involve investments totalling USD 2 billion, envisions to reach full operational capacity by 2029.
“SK Ecoplant and CSCEC plan to harness the power of renewable energy sources, amounting to 778 megawatts (MW). This renewable energy mix includes 500 MW of solar energy and 278 MW of onshore wind energy. Through the utilisation of this sustainable energy infrastructure, the project aims to yield an impressive annual production output of 50,000 tons of green hydrogen and 250,000 tons of green ammonia,” stated ChemAnalyst.news.