Africa-focused independent power producer (IPP) Globeleq has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a green hydrogen hub in Egypt with up to 9GW of solar PV and wind power.
The project will be jointly developed with the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), the General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), the Sovereign Fund of Egypt for Investment and Development (TSFE), and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and be located within the SCZONE.
The development of the green hydrogen project will be done in three phases, starting with a pilot project using a 100MW electrolyser and with an initial focus on green ammonia fertilisers. Other end-uses of green hydrogen will be explored in the medium and longer term, including green fuels.
Once fully operational, the project will total 3.6GW of electrolysers and use 9GW of solar PV and wind power generation with the intention to sign off-take agreements with both national and international companies.
Globeleq aims to produce green hydrogen for export as well as for the local market.
Waleid Gamal Eldien, chairman of SCZONE, said: “The new agreement with Globeleq is a continuation of our commitment to implement Egypt’s vision in the transformation for green economy. The Egyptian government has ambitious energy transition plans, in addition to hosting COP27, and active steps are being taken to make SCZONE a major hub for green hydrogen.”
This is not the first large-scale green hydrogen project Egpyt has signed this year in the SCZONE, with Norwegian renewables company Scatec set to produce up to three million tonnes of green ammonia through a proposed plant in the country.
Globeleq currently operates more than 330MW of solar PV across Africa.