Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is calling for an acceleration of efforts to turn the Suez Canal Economic Zone into a clean energy and green fuels production hub.
In a meeting with government officials held to discuss ongoing projects in the SCZone, President El-Sisi gave directives to focus the strategy for projects in the SCZone on attracting foreign investments aimed at localising technology and providing the industrial capacity and job opportunities.
The meeting also tackled the map of investments in the zone and reviewed efforts to localise new and renewable energy projects and green fuels, particularly green hydrogen and green ammonia projects.
Egypt has abundant wind and solar resources which can be used to produce green hydrogen and hydrogen-based green fuels such as e-methanol and ammonia. Due to its strategic geographical position, the country also has market conditions to become a global powerhouse in green energy, and the Egyptian Government is trying to tap into this potential.
In that respect, the Suez Economic Zone, with its full integration with vital seaports on the Mediterranean and Red Sea, has a competitive advantage of being a vital trade bloodline between Europe and Asia.
To date, SCZONE has signed 16 MOUs for the production of green hydrogen, green ammonia, and e-methanol, a number of which are expected to convert into definitive agreements at COP27, with targeted commercial operation dates in 2025. The production facilities will be sited at SCZONE’s “Integrated Areas”, namely Sokhna and East Port Said.
The agreements signed so far include that with AMEA Power to produce 390,000 tons of green ammonia annually, with the commercial operation to start by the end of 2025, an agreement with Alcazar Energy to create an industrial complex for the production of green hydrogen with a target production capacity of 230 thousand tons per year as well as a supply deal with container shipping major Maersk intended for fuelling the company’s green methanol-powered ships.