SCZone + Japan partner on green hydrogen, ammonia bunkering: Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) has inked two bilateral agreements with Japanese players to cooperate on ammonia bunkering and green hydrogen production, according to a statement. The agreements were among 12 bilateral agreements inked during the Egyptian-Japanese Investment Forum, covering several sectors including supply chain, trade, renewable energy, and infrastructure.

The agreements: SCZone inked an agreement with Japan’s Itochu Corp. and Orascom Construction to design, develop, and operate ammonia bunkering facilities — at an undisclosed cost — at the zone’s ports on the Red Sea. The zone signed another agreement with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to bilaterally exchange expertise in green hydrogen.

More of this could be coming: SCZone also entered talks with Sumitomo Corp. to potentially develop a new industrial zone within SCZone to serve as a green hydrogen corridor, supporting the export of the green fuel, as well as its use in bunkering and decarbonized industries such as green steel production.

We first heard of Japanese firms’ interest in an SCZone-based green hydrogen project back in September 2024, but the identity of interested players was not disclosed at the time. Officials from Egypt’s General Authority for Investments and Freezones then met with Japan Bank for International Cooperation representatives in November 2024 to discuss investments in Egypt’s green hydrogen sector.

The Netherlands also expressed interest in SCZone’s potential as a green bunkering hub, with an agreement inked last year between SCZone and the Port of Rotterdam to work on the green bunkering corridor linking Singapore to Rotterdam through the Suez Canal — in what could potentially be the first corridor for green bunkering between Asia, Africa, and Europe.

REMEMBER- SCZone has lined up framework agreements exploring green hydrogen projects worth a total of USD 64 bn as of late 2024. Thirty MoUs have been signed, with twelve already advancing to a ‘framework agreement’ for possible green hydrogen production totaling a capacity of 18 mn tons per year, SCZone Chairman Walid Gamal El Din said last December.

Some is already advancing, including a facility developed by Orascom as a member of a six-way consortium, which will produce some 13k tons of green hydrogen a year to create 70k tons of green ammonia.

ALSO- Madbouly pitches a Japanese industrial zone in Egypt: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly invited Japanese companies to establish a dedicated Japanese industrial zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), according to a cabinet statement. The move would allow manufacturers to capitalize on Egypt’s strategic location at the crossroads of Africa, Europe, and Asia and leverage the country’s freetrade agreements to reach key markets with fewer customs barriers, Madbouly said.

All for the localization push: Madbouly also urged Japanese firms at the Egypt-Japan Business Council’s investment forum in Tokyo to back Egypt’s localization drive in priority sectors, including automotive, renewables, and water desalination, noting that the government is supporting these industries with incentive packages.

Tags: