More green hydrogen momentum: Egypt signed MoUs with seven companies and consortiums to conduct feasibility studies on new projects to produce green hydrogen and its derivatives, according to a cabinet statement. The statement does not provide further details on the potential investment size, production capacity, or timeline for any of the projects.

Who’s signing? Saudi renewables player Acwa Power, a consortium of Benchmark and the Holding Company for Chemical Industries, China Energy, Germany’s DAI, India’s Ocior Energy, a consortium of France’s Voltalia and Qalaa Holdings’ Taqa Arabia, and BP.

There are plenty of familiar names there: French renewables company Voltalia has also been mulling new solar and wind energy investments here since last year, while Acwa Power could build a 10-GW wind farm here, as well as its planned 1.1 GW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez with our friends at Hassan Allam.

Demand is high for our green energy hub projects: The new MoUs come after Egypt signed a basket of agreements with international companies and consortiums to establish green hydrogen and green ammonia projects, including nine framework agreements for projects that would, if implemented, bring in north of USD 80 bn worh of investments.

Fortescue’s green hydrogen plant could be up and running within five years

MEANWHILE- Australia’s Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) could begin production at its planned green hydrogen plant in 2027, FFI’s Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia President Moataz Kandil was quoted as saying by Al Borsa. FFI expects to complete the plant by 2030, Kandil said in an interview with Bloomberg Asharq (watch, runtime: 7:53).

The details: The project will have a 7.6 GW generation capacity — apparently down from the 9.2 GW facility the company had been looking into — and could produce as much as 330k tons of green hydrogen annually once complete, Kandil reportedly told Al Borsa. The company is in talks with the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) over land allocation, he added.

Where is the money coming from? The project will be financed through “equity capital, loans from multilateral development banks and commercial banks, and possibly a bond issuance,” Kandil told Asharq. The government is planning to chip in 20-25% of the cost of the project.

Boosting our energy export hub ambitions: The company is planning to export its production output to Europe, including Germany, with which FFI has contracts to export 5 mn tons of green hydrogen annually starting 2030, Kandil told Asharq. FFI also signed a framework agreement with the government to set up a green ammonia production facility with an annual production capacity of some 2 mn tons on the sidelines of COP27.