The French company Voltalia has signed a framework agreement with TAQA Arabia, the Egyptian subsidiary of the UAE’s TAQA, to develop a 1 GW hydrogen project near the Ain Sokhna port in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, in north-eastern Egypt. The project is expected to require a total investment of US$3.4bn.
Voltalia and TAQA Arabia intend to install the proposed electrolysis capacity in two 500 MW phases. Each stage will be able to produce more than 350 kt/year of green hydrogen using electricity from more than 1.3 GW of solar and wind parks. This new agreement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in late 2022, which outlined plans for the joint development of green hydrogen and renewable generation projects in Egypt.
In May 2023, the Egyptian Council of Ministers approved the creation of the National Council for Green Hydrogen and its Derivatives, which aims to unify the country’s efforts to stimulate investment in the field of green hydrogen in order to become a hydrogen hub in the future.