Renewables company Voltalia and Egyptian oil company TAQA Arabia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Government of Egypt to develop, finance and operate a green hydrogen cluster with solar PV and wind power.
Located in a greenfield site near Ain Sokhna port in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), the initial phase of the project will produce 15,000 tonnes per year of green hydrogen which will be powered with 100MW of electrolysers supplied with 283MW of solar and wind power.
The project will then be expanded to 150,000 tonnes of green hydrogen with an electrolyser with a capacity of up to 1GW supplied with 2.7GW of renewable power.
Egypt has been pushing into increasing its pipeline of green hydrogen projects in the months leading to COP27 as well as during the event, with many announcements made throughout the year with AMEA Power (1GW of solar PV and wind power), ReNew Power with an US$8 billion investment or Fortescue Future Industries with a 9.2GW facility.
Given the country’s location and the importance of the Suez Canal for maritime transport many of the green hydrogen projects announced will be located in the vicinity of the SCZONE such as independent power producer Globeleq’s 9GW green hydrogen hub or renewables company Scatec for a green ammonia plant that will mainly be exported to Europe and Asia.
“Voltalia has been active in Egypt since 2017 having developed, built and operated its Râ Solar project within the Benban cluster. This green hydrogen project will be a first for Voltalia and will allow us to broaden our range of renewable solutions to clients,” said Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia.
Moreover, earlier this week Voltalia raised US$515 million through a capital increase that will help the company build its 5GW capacity in operation or under construction by 2027.