Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek al-Molla announced that his country has taken steps to enter the hydrogen industry and produce it as a clean source of fuel.
Work is currently underway to develop a strategy for the hydrogen industry in Egypt through a specialized ministerial committee in which the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources participates as a main member, he explained.
Molla said that the petroleum sector is currently communicating with countries and international companies with great technical expertise in this field to explore opportunities for cooperation, and that pilot projects have already been implemented in Egypt.
This came during Molla’s participation in the “First Unlocking Industries – Hydrogen in Africa” forum via video conference, organized by Afrika-Verein as part of “German-African Energy Days 2021”.
Egypt has great potential and competitive advantages that qualify it to enter the hydrogen industry, Molla said.
This includes the availability of natural gas resources in Egypt to support the production of blue hydrogen, which is important in the short and medium term so that green hydrogen can be produced effectively and economically.
He explained that Egypt has a wide domestic market and industries that represent potential consumers of hydrogen, as well as a strategic location and ports on the Mediterranean and Red Seas to meet local, regional and global demand for hydrogen.
Egypt has experience in the technologies used in hydrogen production and its extended partnership with companies providing production technologies, Molla said.
It also boasts technical expertise and design capabilities in the petroleum sector to contribute to the local manufacturing of hydrogen production equipment, in addition to the availability of infrastructure and networks to transport the product and the availability of technical expertise to handle and store it, he added.
He stressed that Egypt will continue to invest in providing the ingredients for hydrogen production and its assembly and storage technologies, while establishing strategic partnerships and cooperation with major countries and international companies.
Egypt is one of the best destinations for regional and international investors in this promising industry, the minister added.
