TAQA Arabia, a Cairo-based energy distribution company led by Egyptian executive and business leader Pakinam Kafafi, and Voltalia, an international player in the renewable energy sector, have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian government to develop a green hydrogen production facility in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE).
Mostafa Madbouly, Egypt’s prime minister, Mohamed Shaker, minister of electricity and renewable energy, Hala El Said, minister of planning and economic development, and Mahmoud Essmat, minister of public enterprise sector, all witnessed the agreement’s signing.
The news comes nearly three months after the energy distribution company signed a MoU with Natural Gas Distribution Company, a gas distribution company based in Saudi Arabia, to develop and operate gas transportation services and gas networks.
The green hydrogen production facility, which will be built under the latest MoU between TAQA Arabia, Voltalia, and the Egyptian government, will have an annual production capacity of 15,000 metric tonnes and will be built on a greenfield site near Ain Sokhna port in the SCZONE using a 100 megawatt (MW) electrolyzer powered by 283 MW of renewable energy.
The recently signed agreement between TAQA Arabia and Voltalia perfectly aligns with Egypt’s goal of achieving a 42-percent renewable share of total generation capacity by 2035 and increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix.
The project will be expandable to 150,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year, with an electrolyzer capacity of up to 1 gigawatt (GW) supplied by a total of 2.70 GW of solar and wind power.
TAQA Arabia, Egypt’s leading energy and utility provider, provides daily energy to more than 1.7 million customers and builds and operates energy infrastructure throughout the country, as well as water treatment and desalination services for a variety of clients.
Kafafi, who was named one of Egypt’s leading 50 influential women in 2016, made significant contributions to TAQA’s growth by acquiring and merging with a number of gas distribution firms, from BG, ENI, Edison, and AMEC.
Kafafi was in charge of the group’s business diversification strategy into power generation and distribution, as well as TAQA Arabia’s entry into the renewable energy market.
