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Egypt

Egypt has an abundance of renewable energy resources with high deployment potential, including hydropower, wind, solar and biomass. This makes the country a prime location with high potential for clean hydrogen production. To achieve Egypt’s NDC commitments under the Paris Agreement, the Egyptian NDC recognizes the importance of reducing GHG emissions in the industrial sector. For these reasons, hydrogen has become a priority for the country to achieve this ambition. 

Egypt already extensively uses grey hydrogen, produced from natural gas using steam methane reforming, in its key industries. The potential introduction of green hydrogen can help the country decarbonize its industry and fulfil climate targets.

The Egyptian government has already taken significant steps towards fostering green hydrogen investments. In August 2023, the Egyptian Cabinet approved the establishment of the National Council for Green Hydrogen, demonstrating its commitment to upscale green hydrogen production and drive sustainable social and economic development .

UNIDO's Programme for Hydrogen in Industry supported the country in 2023 with technical assessments at the pre-feasibility level to identify viable opportunities in the Egyptian ammonia sector for green hydrogen application. Italian Government collaborated with UNIDO on this matter.  

The country is also part of the UNIDO's Global Clean Hydrogen Programme, funded by GEF. The Child Project in Egypt aims to support national institutional capacities, enabling policy frameworks, and improve technological readiness and financial mechanisms as a basis for the successful promotion and uptake of green hydrogen in Egypt to meet its climate mitigation and industrial sustainable development goals.

The Project seeks to provide assistance to effectively attain the benefits of green hydrogen production and its application, particularly in industry such as ammonia production for fertilizers. This will promote new value chains, create new jobs, promote renewable energies and enable clean hydrogen market conditions to facilitate investments.

 

 

Highlights

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9 November 2022 Events
COP27 Special Event: "Future Energy - Green Hydrogen"
The special evening event, “Future Energy – Green Hydrogen”, brought together representatives and experts from developing and developed countries to discuss future energy concepts in a creative atmosphere, visualizing the potential of green hydrogen.TARGET AUDIENCEPolicymakersDelegates of UNFCCC COP27Representatives of international organizationsCEOs/heads of private sector and finance companiesAcademiaRepresentatives of civil societyPARTNERSThe event is organized with the support of partners:Orascom Construction (key partner): Orascom Construction PLC is a leading global engineering and construction contractor primarily focused on infrastructure, industrial and commercial projects in the Middle East, Africa, and the United States.OCI (key partner): A leading global producer and distributor of hydrogen-based products providing low-carbon fertilizers, fuels, and feedstock to agricultural, transportation, and industrial customers around the world.OCP: Since its creation, more than a century ago, the company has grown from a single operation to the world’s leading exporter of phosphate-based products.The Sovereign Fund of Egypt: A sovereign investment fund that attracts private investments to Egypt and promotes co-investment in state-owned assets to contribute to the growth of Egypt’s economy.The Spanish Hydrogen Association: The association represents more than 300 partners from across Spain’s hydrogen value chain Read more about the event here.Watch the livestreamed video on Youtube.  
9 November 2022 News
UNIDO’s special event at COP27 highlights importance of innovative energy solutions, with focus on green hydrogen
SHARM EL-SHEIKH – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), together with the COP27 Presidency, hosted a special evening event to highlight the potential of green hydrogen, and to convey UNIDO's central message: progress by innovation.The evening began with an overview of the long history of energy development and its impact on the African continent. A selection of videos and interactions with the audience provided a relaxing atmosphere at the end of an eventful day at COP27.The notion that combatting climate change should be done in a cooperative manner was a recurring theme throughout the evening.Opening the event, Gerd Müller, Director General of UNIDO, said, "Today we need action, concrete solutions, implementation and solidarity."
8 November 2022 News
COP27: UNIDO to support new Global Renewable Hydrogen Forum
SHARM EL-SHEIKH – UNIDO Director General, Gerd Müller, took part in the “Investing in the Future of Energy: Green Hydrogen” high-level roundtable at COP27, co-chaired by Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Arab Republic of Egypt, and Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany.The roundtable focused on ways to enhance investments in the field of green hydrogen to confront climate change and activate the role of the private sector.In his opening remarks, President El-Sisi stressed, “Green hydrogen represents a real opportunity for economic development that is compatible with efforts to confront climate change and with the Paris Agreement goals.”In his statement, Chancellor Scholz said “Green hydrogen is the key to decarbonizing our economies, especially for hard-to-electrify sectors such as steel production, the chemical industry, heavy shipping and aviation.”There was a major announcement with President El-Sisi, and Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, launching the Global Renewable Hydrogen Forum. The Forum is billed as a multi-stakeholder public-private platform to facilitate the use of renewable hydrogen to foster the decarbonization of industries and accelerate a just transition, and to identify the best instruments to enable the cross-border trade of renewable hydrogen between renewables-rich developing countries and developed countries.UNIDO’s Gerd Müller welcomed the founding of the Forum, describing it as a global platform to exchange knowledge and technology. He said, “We need it worldwide, not in the European Union. And we need it to define a global framework…UNIDO is the industrial agency and partner for Egypt and Europe to implement this multi-stakeholder platform designed to facilitate large-scale deployments of renewable hydrogen.”Müller concluded, “Our common goal must be to make sure developing countries and emerging economies have access to the benefits of green hydrogen.”
8 November 2022 News
IRENA and UNIDO support a global energy transition through green hydrogen
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, 8 November 2022 – Francesco La Camera, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and Gerd Müller, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), have signed a joint declaration on advancing sustainable energy through the fundamental role of green hydrogen.In their statement made at the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, both organizations’ heads declared they would jointly advance the transition towards sustainable energy through green hydrogen in pursuit of access to energy, energy security and economic development.Furthermore, IRENA and UNIDO intend to leverage international cooperation as an enabling platform to facilitate investment, policies and clean technology to accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.