Egypt’s General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) last month signed investment deals worth $14.75 billion with Chinese companies aimed at the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia, as well as a renewables-powered potassium chloride production facility in Egypt.
SCZONE inked a green hydrogen and green ammonia production framework agreement with state-owned China Energy Engineering Group for the construction of plants at the Sokhna industrial zone in Ain Sokhna, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hong Kong-based United Energy Company to develop a complex for the production of potassium chloride based on renewable energy stations with a capacity of 6.1 gigawatts.
The deal with China Energy aims to establish a project for the production of 210,000 mt/y of green hydrogen and 1.2 million mt/y of green ammonia, with investments amounting to $6.75 billion, SCZONE said in a media statement. The announcement follows reports in June that the two parties were close to activating an MOU they had signed (GM June 2, p. 29).
The pact is the latest in a series of agreements Egypt has signed over the last year as the North African country works toward its goal of seizing 8% of the global hydrogen market.
The MOU between SCZONE and United Energy Co. aims to develop a potassium chloride production complex in three stages, starting with a pilot plant for producing 100,000 mt/y, SCZONE said. The project aims to have production capacity of some 4.1 million mt/y, with around 20% of the output targeted for the local market.
SCZONE estimates the project’s total investment, including the renewable energy stations, at approximately $8 billion for the potassium chloride.
“Egypt has a great interest in expanding the establishment of green energy projects and providing more incentives to attract new investments in this promising field,” said SCZONE Chairman Waleid Gamal El-Dien. He added that SCZONE has become one of the most important centers for green energy production in the Middle East and Africa.