Another green hydrogen plant incoming: Saudi Arabia renewable energy giant Acwa Power will set up a green hydrogen plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) at a cost of at least USD 4 bn, according to a framework agreement inked with the Madbouly government yesterday.

In detail: Acwa will invest USD 4 bn in the first phase of the project, which will have a production capacity of 600k metric tons of green ammonia annually. The second phase of the project will add another 2 mn metric tons of green ammonia to the plant’s production capacity.

Who’s involved? The Saudi renewables player inked the agreement with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), the SCZone, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, and the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).

Acwa is no stranger to Egypt’s renewables sector: Acwa, alongside our friends at Hassan Allam Holding, is expected to break ground early next year on a USD 1.5 bn, 1.1 GW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, the largest in the Middle East. Acwa also has minority stakes in three plants in Benban.

Caveat: The agreement signed yesterday is a framework agreement, which is not (by definition) a binding contract. Acwa will likely continue to study the project before coming to a final investment decision or a timeline of the project implementation.

Egypt loves green hydrogen: The government signed several framework agreements for green hydrogen projects over the past year. We are still waiting for the green hydrogen strategy to be announced after it has been approved by the National Green Hydrogen Council last month. The long-awaited strategy aims to provide a regulatory framework for the local production of green hydrogen.

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