Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone signed a $83 billion green energy agreement and nine agreements at the United Nations Climate Summit COP27. These transactions exceeded the expectations of the Economic Zone and are expected to finalize five agreements worth $25 billion. The Egyptian Cabinet said that Egypt signed nine framework agreements with the International Power Company to build green hydrogen and ammonia facilities in the Red Sea coastal economic zone. These facilities will produce up to 7.6 million tons of green ammonia and 2.7 million tons of hydrogen annually. The COP27 held in Sharm el Sheikh began on November 6. Leading project companies from the United Arab Emirates include Abu Dhabi's clean energy company Masdar and Dubai based AMEA Power.

These agreements represent a step forward in the 16 preliminary agreements signed by the Economic Zone since March. The next step will be for these companies to conduct research in the next few months before making the final investment. Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, said that all projects would not be put into operation until 2035 and would help Egypt achieve its ambition of becoming a green hydrogen energy center.

Ms. El Said said that about 20% of the $83 billion was cash investment and 80% was technology transfer investment. Egypt aims to obtain 42% of energy from renewable energy by 2035, up from about 11% in 2019. By 2050, Africa may account for 10% of the global green hydrogen market, because the demand for clean fuels continues to grow in decarbonization efforts. Green hydrogen is produced by separating water and oxygen with an electrolytic cell driven by renewable energy, which greatly reduces the carbon dioxide emissions caused by traditional hydrogen production methods that mainly use fossil fuels.

According to the International Energy Agency, hydrogen production generates about 830 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, equivalent to the total emissions of the United Kingdom and Indonesia. Masdar, together with Egyptian partners Infinity Power Holding and Hassan Allam Utilities, plans to build a two gigawatt facility that will produce up to 480000 tons of green hydrogen each year. The facility is scheduled to start operation in 2026. The same consortium led by Masdar announced the implementation of a 10 GW wind power project in Egypt. Masdar said that as one of the largest wind farms in the world, it will reduce 23.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, equivalent to 9% of Egypt's current production. Masdar also signed a preliminary agreement on the construction of another two gigawatt green hydrogen plant in the Mediterranean in April.

These agreements have strengthened the relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, and highlighted our commitment to providing zero carbon energy solutions, said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Chairman of Masdar. By hosting COP27 in Egypt, our two countries can also exchange expertise and share insights. We will promote and carry forward in the United Arab Emirates when hosting COP28 in 2023, said Dr. Al Jaber.

AMEA Power said that it will develop a 1000 MW green hydrogen energy project, which can produce 800000 tons of green ammonia every year. The operation of the first phase of the project is expected to start in 2027. Elsewhere in the Gulf, Alfana, Saudi Arabia, signed an agreement on a 500000 ton green ammonia facility. The company signed an initial agreement worth $3.5 billion earlier this year. Green ammonia for agricultural fertilizer can be made by using hydrogen in water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from air. One of the most touted projects in recent months is the 100 MW green hydrogen facility of Norway's Scatec, Fertiglobe, Orascom Construction and Egypt's sovereign fund. Fertiglobe is a joint venture between ADNOC and OCI listed in the Netherlands.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said it would provide a loan of 80 million US dollars to the fund, and would provide up to 15000 tons of green hydrogen every year. This will then be used as input for green ammonia production. At full capacity, the facility's green hydrogen production will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 130000 tons per year.

It will serve as a benchmark for future green hydrogen projects and demonstrate that hydrogen and ammonia production can be decarbonized in Africa's largest ammonia producing country, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said. About a year ago, the consortium announced its plan to build Africa's first integrated green hydrogen plant.

ReNew Power, the largest renewable energy company in India, and Elsewedy Electric, an Egyptian multinational, signed a project agreement worth US $8 billion, which will produce 220000 tons of green hydrogen and 1.1 million tons of ammonia every year. After the final investment decision is made in the next 12 to 16 months, the commission in the pilot phase is expected to be obtained in 2026. Globeleq, a British power producer focused on Africa, agreed to build a 2 million ton green hydrogen facility. Keywords: overseas news, engineering news

French energy producer Total Eren and Egyptian investor Enara Capital signed an agreement to build a facility in Ain Sokhna that will produce 300000 tons of green ammonia every year. Finally, EDF Renewables, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EDF, and ZeroWaste of Egypt agreed to build a facility worth 3 billion dollars to produce 350000 tons of green fuel for ships. It is expected to start construction in 2024 and put into operation in 2026.Editor/Xing Wentao