The Egyptian-Emirati project for petroleum products and green hydrogen

The Egyptian-Emirati project for petroleum products and green hydrogen

The Egyptian-Emirati project will change the map of Egypt's exports of petroleum products and green hydrogen.

A massive project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, where Egypt and the UAE are investing in petroleum products and green hydrogen east of Port Said, will change the future of energy in Egypt. What are its benefits for the Egyptian economy?

The government's drive to advance and increase dollar revenues in the Egyptian market is based on developing strategic areas and transforming them into industrial zones and stations for the production of new and renewable energy, creating new outlets for trade with all countries of the world. The government's drive extends to the East Port Said area, where the government, in cooperation with the UAE, is building a giant station that will shape the future of energy in Egypt. This is in addition to the liquid bulk terminal, which aims to transform Egypt into a new regional center for the storage and trading of petroleum products.

First, it's important to understand that the project area is located on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, within a massive industrial zone spanning over 69 square kilometers. This zone is a key pillar in the state's strategy to transform Egypt into a regional hub for trade and logistics. The developments taking place in the zone include the construction of a container terminal with the world's longest draft of 18.5 meters, allowing it to accommodate the latest giant container ships. Since its opening in 2004, it has received more than 30,000 vessels and handled more than 50 million containers.

What's new in the developments is that the terminal successfully accepted its first green methanol-powered vessel in 2023, as part of a plan to transform it into a fully environmentally friendly terminal. The development will include the construction of the longest quay, 3,400 meters long, with investments totaling $500 million. This will increase the terminal's capacity to 7 million containers annually.

The station's development plan includes a completely new requirement: the new docks and equipment will be fully electric. Plans are in place to integrate full automation, and the container terminals will be transformed into green terminals according to international standards. This will also include a wide variety of services and facilities, not limited to containers. There will also be multi-purpose terminals, grain handling terminals, ship bunkering stations, and railway car assembly plants.

As we know, the entire country is moving toward renewable energy, and therefore the development process will include the construction of a giant green hydrogen plant with an annual production capacity of up to 400,000 tons, relying on solar energy with a capacity of 15 gigawatts. The goal is to produce green hydrogen for export to Europe. The country will save more than $1 billion annually from green hydrogen exports, in addition to creating millions of annual job opportunities for young people. It will also include the production of solar panels and energy storage with a capacity of up to 2 gigawatts.