Egypt, Germany kick off joint green hydrogen production project

Ahram Online , Sunday 12 Mar 2023

Egypt and Germany have begun joint activities on Sunday in the their partnership for green hydrogen production, which was established in November of last year, the German embassy said.

A model of a green hydrogen
A model of a green hydrogen plant. File photo

 

A meeting in Cairo aiming at steering the committees of the Egyptian-German green hydrogen project partnership, along with Egyptian officials has set up a joint roadmap to support hydrogen production companies and encourage hydrogen transportation and marketing, according to the embassy. 

The meeting, which was attended by Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and Minister of Public Enterprise Mahmoud Esmat also agreed to establish a platform for enhancing Egyptian-German dialogue and providing political support to promote the use of green hydrogen. 

Furthermore, Parliamentary State Secretary and German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Stefan Wenzel met with Egyptian Minister Electricity Mohamed Shaker and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla in Cairo today to discuss specific steps to take in the path of cooperation within this partnership, as stated by the embassy.

Wenzel’s visit to the Egyptian capital aims to find opportunities for the economic exploitation of hydrogen to meet Egypt's green energy needs and explore the possibility of exporting hydrogen to Germany, the embassy said.

On 3 November, Egypt and Germany signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation for the production of green hydrogen and trade in liquified natural gas (LNG), where Germany would help Egypt build up a sustainable green hydrogen value chain.

The deal, signed ahead of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) held in Egypt last November, seeks to aid Germany in the short term by further diversifying its energy imports, lessening its dependence on Russian gas, according to a statement by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Earlier this month, German Ambassador to Cairo Frank Hartmann said in a presser that Berlin is keen to import larger quantities of LNG from Egypt for their homes.

Germany earlier pledged 285 million to Egypt's Nexus of Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) programme to establish a virtual distribution corridor for green energy across Egypt, DPA cited the embassy as saying.

According to the embassy, this approach allows for the utilisation of green electricity produced in various regions of Egypt, such as Upper Egypt, to facilitate the production of green hydrogen in the Red Sea area.

On the sidelines of COP27, the United States and Germany pledged 250 million to finance NWFE’s energy pillar.

Egyptian-German cooperation in the field of LNG and hydrogen also follows Egypt's aims to establish itself as a green hydrogen production hub. Egypt has partnered with European countries to produce hydrogen.

Egypt also signed seven MoUs in August to establish industrial green hydrogen producing complexes in the Ain Al-Sokhna Industrial Zone, located within the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

Early in March, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Egypt will offer "the largest possible" package of incentives and facilities for companies willing to invest in green hydrogen production projects in the country.

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