{"id":587636,"date":"2023-05-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/goinggreens\/spotlight-karmsolar-ceo-and-co-founder-ahmed-zahran\/"},"modified":"2023-05-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T00:00:00","slug":"spotlight-karmsolar-ceo-and-co-founder-ahmed-zahran","status":"publish","type":"goinggreen","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/goinggreens\/spotlight-karmsolar-ceo-and-co-founder-ahmed-zahran\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight: KarmSolar CEO and co-founder Ahmed Zahran"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>SPOTLIGHT- Ahmed Zahran, CEO and co-founder of KarmSolar: <\/span>The water division of <\/span>solar-powered utilities firm KarmSolar <\/span>this week launched<\/a><\/span> Marsa Alam\u2019s first solar-powered desalination plant, covering 100% of water consumption at Red Sea Diving Safari\u2019s Marsa Shagra resort. There\u2019s more where that came from: The company is expanding its solar and water projects in Marsa Alam and launching its second solar grid next month in Farafra. We sat down with CEO and co-founder Ahmed Zahran (<\/span>LinkedIn<\/a><\/span>) to learn more about what KarmSolar has in store and where the company sees potential for growth in our renewables sector. <\/span><\/p>\n

KarmSolar is expanding the Marsa Alam Solar Grid: <\/span>Launched last year, the <\/span>Marsa Alam Solar Grid<\/a><\/span> allows projects in the area \u2014 including the Marsa Shagra desalination plant \u2014 to draw energy from both the national grid and from the company\u2019s solar stations. KarmSolar has a license to distribute some 10.9 megavolt-amperes (MVAs) through the grid and is currently using around a third of that capacity, Zahran says, adding that it\u2019s in the process of expanding the project. \u201cThe main challenge is that energy consumption [in Marsa Alam] is increasing, which is changing the size of the solar stations that we would need to build,\u201d he says. \u201cThat happens when you have a developing area \u2014 we\u2019ve not yet seen a steady state [of consumption].\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

A second grid project is on the way: <\/span>The Farafra Solar Grid \u2014 for which <\/span>KarmSolar secured EGP 83 mn<\/a><\/span> in financing from our friends at HSBC \u2014 is \u201calmost fully constructed\u201d and set to go live in early June, Zahran told us. The company has so far signed up Juhayna and Nawa for Agricultural Investment as offtakers.<\/span><\/p>\n

KarmSolar is focusing on distributing power across large areas: <\/span>\u201cOur strategy at the moment is securing power distribution zones,\u201d Zahran says, noting that the company has secured exclusive power distribution rights for a 67k-acre stretch of land for the Farafra grid project. \u201cThis gets you a lot of clients all at once from different sectors because you take the responsibility for power distribution across geographical areas,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing very well on that front [and] our expansion is going to be dependent on that, because it\u2019s one of the best ways to target private offtakers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn general our growth strategy always depends on private offtakers<\/span> because we believe it is more sustainable than government offtakers,\u201d Zahran adds. \u201cIt is slower, but it is more sustainable and I think more profitable as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The aim is to capture the whole value chain \u2014 from generation through consumption: <\/span>The company\u2019s three branches \u2014 KarmSolar, KarmWater, and the Karm Architecture Lab (KAL) \u2014 work in tandem to provide private projects with sustainable utilities and ensure they are used efficiently. \u201cThe overall vision is that you have a vertically integrated value chain that is fueled predominantly by solar with the minimum waste and the minimum environmental footprint \u2014- whether it comes to energy, architecture, or water desalination,\u201d Zahran says. <\/span><\/p>\n

That could include finding new uses for the waste products of desalination. <\/span>Conventional desalination plants have two key environmental impacts: They run on large amounts of energy, and they create large amounts of saline wastewater \u2014 also known as brine \u2014 as a byproduct. KarmWater currently injects that brine back into the ground in compliance with environmental regulations. But its technical team is exploring \u201ceconomic uses for the brine,\u201d Zahran tells us \u2014 foremost among them extracting the salt to be used elsewhere. The difficulty, he says, is in making that process cost-competitive: \u201cIt\u2019s a big challenge for all desalination plants because there are a lot of impurities and chemicals that are produced with that brine that raise the cost of salt extraction.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Could we one day be drinking KarmWater? <\/span>The utility water produced by the Marsa Shagra desalination plant is drinking quality, Zahran says \u2014 but the company is prevented from bottling it by regulations that prohibit the use of desalinated water for drinking. Zahran would like to see that change. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the worst things that exists today in the water regulations,\u201d he says. All drinking water \u201cis designed in terms of taste, mineral content, everything,\u201d he argues. \u201cAny type of water can be used for drinking if a proper process is implemented\u2026 So there is nothing scientific or technical that prevents us from doing that.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Finding more uses for desalinated water could also cut down on plastic and carbon emissions<\/span>, Zahran points out. \u201cThe carbon footprint of the plastic bottles that we're all buying \u2014 especially when you buy them in areas that are very far away from where they're produced \u2014 is tremendous,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s predominantly because of the transportation,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the main issues that we have today in terms of carbon footprint and in terms of plastic consumption.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

KarmSolar is well-positioned to ride out current economic challenges<\/span>, Zahran says, noting that \u201cbecause we have an international investor, we never had a problem accessing USD.\u201d (France\u2019s EDF Renewables became the company\u2019s largest shareholder when it bought an <\/span>undisclosed stake<\/a><\/span> through a capital increase back in 2019.) \u201cObviously the investment criteria in Egypt are much tougher than before,\u201d he says. \u201cImports are taking a bit longer, even if you have the USD\u2026 [but] those tough conditions are proving how resilient our company is.\u201d He points to KarmSolar\u2019s <\/span>inclusion<\/a><\/span> for the second year running in the Financial Times\u2019 list of the fastest growing companies in Africa: \u201cAchieving that during these tough times means that our growth is actually bigger than the devaluation of the EGP. That\u2019s something we\u2019re quite proud of.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

And green energy is a resilient sector: <\/span>The country\u2019s power demand doubles almost every nine years, while growth in water consumption will be \u201ceven more drastic,\u201d according to Zahran. \u201cThere will be no shortage of projects. You just need to make sure that you build the company that is capable of handling the economics right, understanding how to deal with private offtakers [and] how to scale up those types of projects.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Your top green economy stories for the week:<\/span><\/p>\n