Egypt signs $7.58 billion deal for green hydrogen facility in MENA region
Egypt recently signed a significant agreement worth €7 billion (~$7.58 billion) with France’s EDF and the United Arab Emirates-based Zero Waste to collaborate on a green hydrogen project near the Gulf of Suez. This project aims to produce more than one million tons of green ammonia annually, with a primary focus on using it as shipping fuel for vessels navigating the Suez Canal. Spanning 420 sq km, the project will also include the development of wind and solar power facilities to support its operations. Additionally, the consortium plans to construct a 400m-long shipping dock for the Red Sea Ports Authority and establish a seawater desalination unit to ensure smooth project operations.
In another development, Dubai experienced a 5.4% growth in energy demand in 2024, reaching 59,594 GWh compared to 56,516 GW in 2023. Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, the Managing Director and CEO of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), attributed this increase in demand to the region’s population growth and economic expansion. DEWA currently boasts an installed generation capacity of 17.179 GW, with clean energy making up 20% of the total. The peak demand in 2024 reached 10.76 GW, representing a 3.4% increase from 2023. Saeed Mohammad AL Tyler provided an update on the progress of the sixth phase of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which has a planned capacity of 1,800 MW. This phase is currently 53% complete, with 600MW already operational. The project, developed under an independent power producer model, has attracted investments worth AED 5.5 billion (~$1.50 billion). Once completed, it is expected to cover 20 sq km and provide clean energy to around 540,000 residences.
Furthermore, EDF Renewables North America and Masdar recently inked a power purchase agreement with Soluna Holdings to supply up to 166 MW of energy from the Las Majadas Wind project in Texas. Soluna intends to utilize this renewable power for its new data center, Project Kati, which will be strategically located near the wind project’s substation. The Las Majadas Wind project has been operational since 2021 and boasts a total capacity of 273 MW.
Additionally, the Arab Energy Fund and Hartree Partners joined forces to establish TAEF Hartree Cleantech, a $120 million investment platform focusing on decarbonization technologies in the U.S. and Europe. This UK-based platform will offer support to venture capital-stage companies engaged in developing physical and digital cleantech solutions. Hartree Partners, with a track record of investing in cleantech since 2020, concentrates on carbon markets and industrial decarbonization. Notably, the company’s cleantech portfolio includes holdings in 10 companies specializing in industrial decarbonization, emissions verification, geospatial data analytics, and climate change adaptation technology segments.
On a different note, Lulu Retail collaborated with the Kanoo-CleanMax joint venture to complete its inaugural solar project in Saudi Arabia at its Riyadh Central Warehouse. The 502.7 kWp rooftop solar project aims to generate 846 MWh of clean energy annually and is among the first projects to be integrated into the Saudi Electricity Company’s grid.
