In the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, a framework agreement for a green hydrogen project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone was inked.
ACWA Power, a Saudi Arabian renewable energy firm, is the project’s developer. Egypt’s Sovereign Fund, the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, and the New and Renewable Energy Authority are also signatories.
The signing ceremony was attended by Mohamed Shaker, the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy; Hala El-Said, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development; Paddy Padmanathan, the President and CEO of ACWA Power; and Walid Gamal Eldin, the Chairperson of the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
The Egyptian side was represented by Mohamed El-Khayat, the CEO of the New and Renewable Energy Authority; Sabah Mashaly, the Chairperson of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company; Ahmed Saad, the CEO of the Suez Canal Economic Zone; and Ayman Soliman, the CEO of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt. Paddy Padmanathan signed the agreement on behalf of ACWA Power.
According to Mohamed Shaker, the agreement outlines an action plan for the first phase of the green hydrogen project, which will have a production capacity of up to 600,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year. The total investment for this phase exceeds $4bn. The project aims to expand to a second phase with a production capacity of 2 million tonnes of green ammonia per year.
Paddy Padmanathan expressed his delight in bringing ACWA Power’s expertise in the green hydrogen sector to this emerging market in Egypt. He commended the partnership for producing the fuel of the future, which will have a high demand in Europe and the rest of the world. He also affirmed Egypt’s potential to become one of the largest producers of green hydrogen globally.
He added that this new project brings the total number of ACWA Power’s projects in Egypt, either operational, under construction, or in advanced stages, to 5. All of these projects are based on new and renewable energy sources.
