A national hydrogen strategy is in the works: The government is currently contracting with a global consulting office to develop a national hydrogen strategy, Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker told CNBC Arabia (watch, runtime: 2:57). He added that we could be seeing a hydrogen project up and running by October 2022, without disclosing the name of the company behind its implementation.

A number of big players are eyeing Egypt’s hydrogen market: Eni, General Electric and ThyssenKrupp have reportedly submitted bids worth a collective USD 2 bn to establish hydrogen plants in Egypt that would produce both green and blue forms of hydrogen.

Policymakers in Egypt have been taking green hydrogen increasingly seriously over the past 12 months, holding talks with a number of international firms about establishing a local industry that has the potential to grow into a key part of the country’s energy mix. Siemens is already on board to set up a pilot green hydrogen production plant, while Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec announced last month that it will build a 50-100 MW green hydrogen facility in Ain Sokhna, in partnership with Nassef Sawiris-backed ammonia producer Fertiglobe and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt. Eni is working with state gas company Egas to produce feasibility studies for manufacturing blue and green hydrogen.

Energy firms have been pushing hydrogen as a greener alternative to traditional fossil fuels — in what some say is a tactic meant to delay the inevitable death of carbon-emitting energy sources.