In light of the growing international interest in this viable form of energy for the near future, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called for the development of an integrated national plan for the production of green hydrogen on Saturday.
Green hydrogen is a hydrogen fuel made from renewable energy rather than fossil fuels, which almost eliminates hazardous emissions.
El-Sisi recommended the formulation of an integrated strategy for hydrogen production in collaboration with several state sectors during a meeting with Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker, according to a statement from the presidency.
The policy aims to equip Egypt to generate and use hydrogen, while also coping with international advancements in this field and incorporating green hydrogen energy into Egypt’s integrated national energy system.
Egypt’s cooperation with experienced international entities in the field of generating green hydrogen using renewable energy was evaluated at the meeting, which was also attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity struck an agreement with Siemens of Germany in January to begin investigations for constructing a pilot project in Egypt to produce green hydrogen.
Egypt’s Energy Strategy 2035 will be updated to include green hydrogen, according to the ministry.
Two months later, the ministry inked a collaboration agreement with the Belgian DEME Group to perform studies on green hydrogen production in the country.
The president’s comments come two days after the Egyptian government announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Italian Eni for the production of green and blue hydrogen as well as the technical feasibility of its planned production projects in Egypt.
According to Arab News, Shaker revealed Egypt’s plans to invest up to $4 billion in a project to generate green hydrogen through electrolysis in June, stating that the initiative is currently undergoing a feasibility study.
The meeting between El-Sisi and Shaker and Madbouly addressed the ministry’s projects in renewable energy and power connection with neighboring nations, according to the statement.
It also addressed power projects in the New Administrative Capital, such as the national electricity grid’s primary control center.
Shaker discussed the progress of a power linkage project with Saudi Arabia, which involves expanding electricity lines and installing a number of electricity switching stations on both sides.
This project proposes to exchange electric energy between Egypt’s and Saudi Arabia’s national electric networks in order to gain mutual economic benefits.
The president also went over national electrical projects, particularly those that rely on wind and solar energy and are conducted in collaboration with private sector enterprises and with the help of international experience.
This is part of Egypt’s integrated and sustainable energy policy, which seeks to increase the country’s renewable electricity generation capacity to 42 percent by 2035.
Egypt has taken significant strides to boost the amount of renewable energy produced, including the construction of the world’s largest solar park, Benban, in Aswan, Upper Egypt.
According to the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) for 2021, Egypt has risen from 26th place in 2020 to 20th place among the world’s top 40 markets.
