Indian Company to Build $8 Billion Green Hydrogen Factory in Egypt

Egypt has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an Indian company, Indian ReNew Power Private Limited (RENE.BO), to build a green hydrogen factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, according to a statement by the cabinet.

The factory, which is worth USD 8 billion (EGP 151 billion) will produce 20,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year in the first phase. The second phase will see an expansion in production to reach 200,000 tonnes.

In a statement, ReNew Power said that it is proud to partner with Egypt, as “it shows global leadership in taking on the existential threat of climate change in the lead up to COP27”.

The Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker said, “Egypt enjoys an abundance of wind and solar energy resources through which enough renewable energy can be generated to produce green hydrogen and ammonia. Egypt is a promising market to become a key global player in the green energy value chain.”

Previously, Shaker also announced the year 2022 as to be “The Year of Green Hydrogen,” regarding it as the fuel of the future.

Ambassador of India to Egypt, Ajit Gupte, said during the fifth  Egypt-India Business Council meeting on Tuesday that Indian investments in Egypt currently stand at USD 3.15 billion (EGP 59 billion), and that India is expecting to pump additional investments into Egypt amounting to about USD 700 million (EGP 13 million) in the coming few years.

Indian companies are currently implementing a variety of projects in Egypt.

In five projects in Aswan, Sterling & Wilson built solar power plants with a total capacity of 250 MW, at a value of USD 250 million. Vatek Wabag is also 10 water treatment projects in Egypt, in addition to 10 other projects on water treatment across Egypt.

In April of this year, Egypt’s Hassan Allam Utilities and the United Arab Emirates’ renewable energy company Masdar signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to build green hydrogen production plants in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) and on the Mediterranean coast.

Egypt also signed a new partnership agreement with Danish shipping giant Maersk to explore the establishment of large-scale green fuel production in the country in the pursuit of net-zero shipping.

In line with Egypt’s 2035 Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy, Egypt intends to increase the supply of electricity generated from renewable sources to 20 percent by 2022 and 42 percent by 2035.