Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly recently met with representatives from a global alliance led by Belgian mechanical engineering firm John Cockerill to discuss the potential localisation of electrolyser manufacturing in the country. This initiative aligns with Egypt's growing interest in green hydrogen production, which has attracted substantial investment.
The meeting included representatives from various companies, including Norway's Scatec, which is involved in renewable energy and hydrogen projects in Egypt, as well as Technip, Rely, and Schlumberger, as noted in a Cabinet statement.
During the discussions, Madbouly expressed his intent to collaborate with John Cockerill and the alliance to establish an industrial complex for producing electrolyser components necessary for green hydrogen and green ammonia projects. This initiative dates back to October 2023, when Madbouly first met with John Cockerill's CEO, François Michel, who indicated the company's interest in setting up a manufacturing project in Egypt. Following this meeting, the prime minister engaged with the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone to reaffirm the government's support for the project.
Significant progress has been made in project studies since the initial discussions, according to Jean-Luc Maurange, Executive Board Member of John Cockerill. Ahmed Saad, Executive Director of the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, stated that the authority intends to provide all legally approved incentives to expedite the establishment of the electrolyser components project. He also mentioned that discussions have commenced with the global alliance to allocate the necessary land for the initiative.
Regarding production, alliance officials indicated that their initial focus will be on serving the local market, with the possibility of exporting should domestic project demands be fully satisfied.
