Good morning, folks. We’re wrapping up what has been a busy week with a brisk issue. Leading the news well today is the latest on our regional electricity interconnection projects, with a source letting us in on the government’s plan to significantly boost its interconnection capacity by the end of next year. We also have news of a new real estate project, after regional real estate developer Methaq Arab Group announced plans for a EGP 60 bn mixed-use development.

PSA-

WEATHER- Cairo is in for another sunny day, with a high of 35°C and a low of 24°C, according to our favorite weather app.

Alexandria will be looking at a high of 31°C and a low of 24°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Are we witnessing the death of the green hydrogen industry? Global demand for green hydrogen has been lagging far behind expectations, leaving projects without buyers, Emirati state-run renewables giant Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi told Bloomberg, explaining why the company will be shifting its focus away from green hydrogen and toward powering AI.

High production costs have stifled demand, forcing companies around the world to scale back or cancel projects while raising fresh doubts over the industry’s long-term viability. “Today, green hydrogen is under pressure and the market is shrinking. A lot of people who went into this venture are out,” Al Ramahi said.

This will surely put a dent in our plans: The Madbouly government has harbored ambitions to transform Egypt into a center for green hydrogen production for some time now, with its sights set on becoming a regional hub by 2026 and a global hub by 2030. Last year, the government launched the National Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy, which targets 5-8% of the global hydrogen market by 2040.

What’s next? With the future of the industry in question, we have a feeling that some of the green hydrogen projects we heard of over the past few years may never see the light. However, we are yet to hear anything about the Madbouly government revising its plan to become a green hydrogen hub in the years to come.

REMEMBER- Masdar is working on a local green hydrogen project. Masdar, alongside Infinity, Hassan Allam, and global energy giant BP signed an agreement last year to set up a USD 14 bn green hydrogen project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The project is expected to be fully operational in ten years.

DATA POINT-

Natural gas production fell 16.4% y-o-y in June to 3.4 bn cubic meters, down from 4.09 bn cubic meters, Al Arabiya reports, citing recent Jodi data. Output also slipped 3.6% m-o-m in June. Meanwhile, over 1H 2025, production dropped nearly 19% y-o-y, extending the downward trend.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The international business press has a small handful of stories that are leading the conversation this morning, including a rundown of the minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s last Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Federal Reserve policymakers are equally concerned about the twin risks of rising inflation and falling employment levels, but ultimately decided that inflation is the greater risk of the two, the minutes from its July meeting indicate. The meeting came two days before the Labor Department released data showing the unemployment rate rose in July, followed by a revision to employment estimates that has undermined the notion that the US’ job market remains strong. (CNBC | Reuters | Bloomberg)

Meta is reportedly freezing hiring in its AI division as the company reorganizes the division’s structure, the Wall Street Journal reports. The freeze, which came into effect last week, comes after Meta hired more than 50 employees for its AI efforts, fueling some concern over the cost of its superintelligence buildout.

REGIONALLY- Israel is stepping up its offensive in Gaza, confirming yesterday that it has “begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City.” The Israeli army is now “holding the outskirts of Gaza City,” marking a step towards implementing a widely criticized plan to take over the city. This came as Israel called on 60k reserve troops to join the war, even as it is considering its response to the latest ceasefire proposal. (Reuters | Bloomberg)

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