Egypt aims to bring 3.2mn t/yr of renewable hydrogen production capacity on line by 2030, which would require 5.4 trillion Egyptian pounds ($175bn) investment across 32 projects, according to a government strategy document.
The figures suggest an average project size of 100,000 t/yr and average investments of around $5.5bn per project, although the estimates may also include investment in common user infrastructure, such as ports and pipelines.
Anticipated investments of $5.5bn/100,000 t/yr of hydrogen output would be considerably higher than for the largest renewable hydrogen project that has so far reached financial close — Saudi-Arabia's Neom facility. Neom is slated to produce 200,000 t/yr of hydrogen with total investment of $8.5bn.
Egypt wants to shift from being a "regional green hydrogen hub" by 2026 to become a "global production hub" by 2030, according to the strategy document.
This suggests it is expecting to start production at some plants in 2026, which tallies with predictions from Egyptian officials and industry groups that multiple developers would take final investment decisions in 2024.
The strategy document also outlined a plan to further grow renewable hydrogen production capacity to 9.2mn t/yr by 2040, of which it aims to export around 5.6mn t/yr. The government said it wants an 8pc share of the hydrogen market, which implies that it expects a 70mn t/yr traded market for renewable hydrogen by 2040.
The production targets add detail to the export industry plan which Egypt has been developing, especially since hosting UN climate summit Cop in 2022. Last week, its parliament approved a package of measures, such as tax breaks and streamlined processing, to sweeten the deal for developers.
Egypt has already signed a raft of preliminary agreements with domestic and international companies for development of renewable hydrogen production projects, especially in the Suez Canal economic zone, although many of the plans are still at a very early stage.
