Cairo and Scatec, a Norwegian firm specializing in renewable energy systems, have signed a memorandum of understanding to create green hydrogen in Egypt.
The project’s investment cost is anticipated to be $5 billion. The project will be completed in two stages, with green hydrogen production expected to begin in 2025.
Morocco’s green hydrogen should help with the manufacturing of green ammonia at the Suez Canal Economic Zone level. Scatec and the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone signed a memorandum of understanding in December to build a green ammonia production facility using green hydrogen with a capacity of 1 million tons per year.
Egypt’s selection is justified by the country’s huge potential for the growth of renewable energies, notably solar and wind power.
From 20% in 2022 to 42% in 2035, the nation wants to expand the percentage of renewable energy in overall power generation. He believes there is a lot of promise. In the Gulf of Suez region, the country possesses wind power potential, with a steady wind speed of roughly 8-10 m/s. Similarly, the governorates of Beni Suef and the oasis of El Kharga, located east and west of the Nile, give wind speeds of 5 to 8 m/s, which are adequate for wind power generation. With an average of 2,800 to 3,200 hours of sunlight per year and solar irradiation of 1,970 to 3,200 KWh/m2 per year, the nation offers remarkable potential for solar energy production.
Remember that hydrogen is obtained through water electrolysis, which is a technique that uses an electric current to break down the water molecule (H20) into dihydrogen (H2) and oxygen (0). The product is known as green hydrogen if it is produced utilizing renewable energy sources (wind, solar, etc.).
Following the onset of the Ukraine crisis, European countries enacted the REpowerEU initiative, which aims to increase renewable gas production. One of the goals is to produce 15 million tons of hydrogen by 2030, which may replace 25 to 30 billion cubic meters of Russian gas. And 10 million tons of hydrogen would be imported out of this total.