Germany, Egypt Join Hands for Renewable Hydrogen

Hydrogen Project HyNCREASE in Germany Qualifies for European Grant

Germany and Egypt have joined hands to partner for renewable hydrogen through an MoU. The agreement will also pave the way for bolstering trade in LNG.

The partnership will be focused on the execution of projects for producing, processing, employing and transporting green hydrogen along with the promotion of a green hydrogen sector. Egypt and Germany will together be investing in research on green hydrogen as well.

The signatories of the agreement were Energy Minister Robert Habeck and Egypt’s Tarek El Molla, Minister for Petroleum and Resources and Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Minister for Electricity and Renewables. The agreement came before the start of the UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt.

Egypt’s Ambitious Green Hydrogen Plans

Egypt has set sights on augmenting its renewable sources of energy and is looking to achieve 43 per cent of its power from these sources by year 2035.

In April 2022, a flagship green hydrogen project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. In another major step towards the advancement of Green Hydrogen, Siemens Energy and the state’s utility Egyptian Electricity Holding Company entered into an agreement to develop a green industry while also exploring potential for export. This partnership would also entail the development of a pilot electrolyzer facility with 100 to 200 MW capacity.

Germany’s Push for Green Hydrogen Economy

In 2020, Germany embraced the National Hydrogen Policy. Under this policy, a package of $8.1 billion is provided to enable the country to become a leader in Green Hydrogen via technology and international partnerships. A few of Germany’s 16 state governments have come up with concrete hydrogen as well. These include Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, five north German coastal states together, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Germany has been placing a premium on the development of green hydrogen since 1980s and currently, it boasts of a share of 20 per cent building electrolyzers in the global market.

India’s Ties with Germany, Egypt

India is not far behind when it comes to stepping up efforts towards Green Hydrogen. A few months ago, the country signed an agreement with Germany for cooperation on Green Hydrogen, under which the two countries will create an Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Force.

In October, India expressed an interest in investing towards the production of Green Hydrogen in Suez Canal Economic Zone. An MoU was signed between the two countries to set up a factory towards this end in the said area.

More recently, India further ramped up its efforts aimed at the acceleration of Green Hydrogen as the Indian Government identified ten states that have the potential for the production of Green Hydrogen. On the export front, it will be exporting Green Hydrogen to Singapore starting 2025.