Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has received six offers from a plethora of international companies to implement hydrogen production projects.
The companies that have put forward offers represent the UK, the US, Germany, Japan, Italy, and China.
Sources at the ministry have informed Daily News Egypt that a high-level committee has been formed to study the offers submitted by each company separately. The committee will then send a detailed report to Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker, to decide on these offers.
The committee features representatives from: the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC); the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC); and the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).
The sources indicated that the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy is looking to implement projects to produce green hydrogen within three years.
This will take place according to the strategy approved by the ministry until 2035, by which it will have added hydrogen as a source of obtaining clean energy.
The sources added that the offers submitted to the ministry include a reliance on solar and wind energies to produce green hydrogen. After the completion of the report to be issued by the committee, a consultation will be made regarding the technical, financial, and legal details of the projects.
The sources stated that the mechanism for implementing hydrogen production projects has not been discussed yet. The Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has signed several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with a number of companies regarding cooperation in the green hydrogen production field.
The sources added that these offers differ from the agreement signed between the EEHC and German company Siemens, which includes the implementation of a pilot project for the production of green hydrogen.
The project will serve as a guide for the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy on the implementation of future projects, the sources said.
Hydrogen is produced through electrolysis using sea water, using an electric current to separate hydrogen from oxygen in the water. If this electricity is obtained from renewable sources, it will produce energy without emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The sources stressed that this type of fuel will be used extensively in those industries that produce large amounts of carbon during manufacturing. The most prominent of these are: steel; shipping and chemical production; aircraft; ships; long-distance trucks; and heavy industries.
