The Egyptian government has signed seven memoranda of understanding (MoU) with international developers to set up green hydrogen and renewable energy projects in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE).

The MoUs were signed on February 28 in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly as well as government agencies, including the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the New and Renewable Energy Authority, and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company.

During the ceremony, Hala Al-Saeed, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, said that the signing of these seven MoUs represents a new step for the Fund in the series of investment partnerships with major international companies to develop green hydrogen projects in the SCZONE.

Al-Saeed explained that the new agreements add expected investments, for the pilot phase, about $12 billion, in addition to about $29 billion for the first phase. This brings the total investments to about $40 billion within 10 years.

Al-Saeed also mentioned that the Fund recently launched the first integrated green ammonia production plant in Africa, noting that the new MoUs mark the beginning of investment partnerships and new projects, all of which contribute to achieving the goals of the National Green Hydrogen Strategy.

Ayman Soliman, CEO of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, commented: “The Fund is receiving continuous and increasing interest from investors in green hydrogen projects, and today’s signing reflects the growing interest of companies in joining the Egyptian green hydrogen program, which reflects the country’s progress on the right path through establishing a clear program.”

At the end of 2022, the government agencies in Egypt signed seven MoUs with consortia of international and local companies, including Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, Benchmark’s consortium, the Holding Company for Chemical Industries, China’s China Energy, Germany’s DAI, India’s OCIOR ENERGY, VoltaLia – TAQA, and Britain’s bp, to initiate studies on green hydrogen production projects in the SCZONE.

Following the agreements from 2022, ACWA Power recently entered into a framework agreement on the development of the first phase of its green hydrogen project in Egypt which could have a capacity of up to 2 million tons per year of green hydrogen, with an investment of more than $4 billion.