Masdar, the UAE’s flagship clean energy company, and its consortium partners, Infinity Power Holding and Hassan Allam Utilities, announced that they have signed a framework agreement with leading Egyptian state-backed organisations on the development of a 2 gigawatt (GW) green hydrogen project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE).
The Masdar-led consortium signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in April with Egyptian entities related to developing two green hydrogen production plants in the country, one in the SCZONE and the other on the Mediterranean. The consortium is targeting an electrolyzer capacity of 4 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and an output of up to 480,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
Yesterday’s agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in the presence of Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Special Envoy for Climate, and Chairman of Masdar, Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy and Hala Al-Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Mariam Al Kaabi, UAE Ambassador to Egypt, were also present.
The signatories were Mohammad Abdelqader El-Ramahi, Director for Asset Management, Technology and Green Hydrogen at Masdar; Amr Allam, Chief Executive Officer of Hassan Allam Utilities; and Mohamed Ismail Mansour, Chairman of Infinity Power Holding. CEOs from the state-backed organisations also attended the event.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber said, “Today’s announcement strengthens the ties between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Egypt and highlights our two nations’ commitment to delivering zero-carbon energy solutions. This 4 GW green hydrogen program follows Masdar’s announcement last week of a 10-gigawatt wind project in Egypt, also with our partners Hassan Allam Utilities and Infinity Power Holding – both will support Egypt’s decarbonisation objectives. Through Egypt’s hosting of COP27, our two countries have also been able to exchange expertise and share insights that we will take forward and build on in the UAE when we host COP28 next year.”
Mohamed Ismail Mansour, Chairman of Infinity Power, said, “We are honored to be working on our first ever Green Hydrogen project, as a part of the consortium with Masdar and Hassan Allam Utilities. The project is expected to facilitate economic growth for the country as well as help position Egypt as a Green Fuel Hub, propelling the country forward on its journey in becoming a green economy. We look forward to being a part of many such projects in the future.”
Allam said, “Such strategic partnerships between Hassan Allam Utilities, Masdar, and Infinity Power provide more opportunities that support Egypt’s transition towards a green economy and promote sustainable development across the country. We are proud to contribute to developing green hydrogen production facilities in Egypt while leveraging the country’s abundant natural resources.”
Nayer Fouad, CEO of Infinity Power, said, “We are always working towards expanding our portfolio of services across all technologies of sustainable energy production. This is a milestone event for us at Infinity Power, and we look forward to continuing to build upon our efforts with more Green Hydrogen projects as we move forward towards making the vision of a sustainable Africa a reality.”
Mohammed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said, “Today’s announcement takes us a vital step closer to advancing this massive collaborative project, which stands to bolster Egypt’s energy independence and enable the production of high-value green hydrogen derivatives for export, like green ammonia. With the first green hydrogen molecule set to be produced by 2026, we must continue to maintain momentum to ensure timely completion of this groundbreaking undertaking.”
As per the agreement, the consortium will enter into a binding framework agreement with the SCZONE, the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), and The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE). The agreement sets out the key terms and conditions for the green hydrogen development program with a focus on the first phase of the programme.
In the first phase of the project, the consortium will establish a green hydrogen manufacturing facility in the SCZONE, scheduled to begin operations by 2026. The electrolyzer facilities in the SCZONE and on the Mediterranean could be extended to up to 4 GW by 2030 to produce 2.3 million tonnes of green ammonia for export as well as supply green hydrogen for local industries.
Egypt enjoys abundant solar and wind resources that can allow for the generation of renewable power at a highly competitive cost, a key enabler for green hydrogen production and is located within proximity to markets where demand for green hydrogen is expected to grow the most, providing a robust opportunity for export.
Masdar, Infinity Power and Hassan Allan Utilities last week announced they had signed an agreement to develop a 10 GW onshore wind project in Egypt – one of the largest wind farms in the world. Once completed, the wind farm will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 23.8 million tonnes a year – equivalent to 9 percent of Egypt’s current output.
Egypt is targeting renewables to make up 42 percent of its energy mix by 2035, while Egyptian authorities are reportedly working to revise the country’s renewable energy strategy to include green hydrogen.
Africa could capture as much as 10 percent of the global green hydrogen market, helping to create up to 3.7 million jobs and adding as much as US$120 billion to the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report issued jointly by Masdar and its Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) platform at COP27 last week.
