The French company Voltalia and the Egyptian company Taqa Araba are joining forces to produce hydrogen in the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Egypt. This resource will be obtained with electricity produced from renewable energy sources.
Voltalia will invest in green hydrogen in Egypt. The Paris, France-based company will produce the energy in a partnership with Taqa Arabia, a company based in Cairo, Egypt. The two companies have just signed a related agreement with the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (Sczone), the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).
Voltalia and Taqa have secured land to install electrolysers at Ain Sokhna in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Initially, the electrolysis capacity will be 100 MW, representing a production of 15,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year. The electrolysis capacity will be rapidly increased to 1 GW, fed by 2.7 GW of electricity. The two companies will then be able to produce 150,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year.
Hydrogen produced from renewable energy
This hydrogen will be produced with electricity from solar and wind farms. The land needed to produce this electricity will be allocated by the Egyptian authorities. Voltalia will be the majority shareholder in this project, followed by Taqa. The two companies are giving EETC and TSFE the opportunity to take a stake in the project.
Read also- EGYPT: Voltalia connects a 32 MW solar photovoltaic plant in Benban
“Voltalia has been active in Egypt since 2017 after developing, building and operating its Ra Solar project at the Benban complex. This green hydrogen project will be a first for Voltalia and will allow us to expand the range of renewable solutions offered to our customers,” explains Sébastien Clerc, Voltalia’s Managing Director
This is the third French company to announce investments in green hydrogen in Egypt. A few months ago, EDF Renouvelables, a subsidiary of the Électricité de France (EDF) group, joined forces with the Emirati energy company Amea Power to produce 350,000 tonnes of hydrogen and green ammonia per year. For its part, Total Eren, the subsidiary of the oil company TotalEnergies, has chosen Enara Capital, an investment platform based in Cairo, to produce 1.5 million tonnes of hydrogen per year in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
Jean Marie Takouleu
