Egypt publishes National Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy

Egypt's prime minister Mostafa Madbouly chairs a cabinet meeting. Image by Egypt's Cabinet on Facebook

The Egyptian government on Thursday published the National Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy which is intended to enable the North African country to grab up to 8% of the global hydrogen market by 2040 and become a major exporter to Europe and some Asian markets.

The strategy envisages a phased approach which includes pilot projects in the 2020s followed by a scale-up phase in the 2030s which is aimed at scaling up hydrogen production to the gigawatt scale and beyond in order to secure a market position in the growing hydrogen market. The third phase, expected in the 2040s and called Full Implementation, envisages using hydrogen across society to support decarbonisation and secure Egypt’s low-carbon future in industry and transport.

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The strategy's action plan includes increasing the production capacity of hydrogen and its derivatives, gradually expanding the local use of low-carbon hydrogen, and reaching its use in all sectors, especially industry and transportation. To take a share of about 8% of the global market by 2040, Egypt estimates that it will have to produce 5.6 million tonnes annually for export which will require USD 60 billion of investment.

The table below gives details on the key metrics of the two scenarios in the strategy.

	Central scenario		Green scenario
	2030s	2040s	2030s	2040s
Hydrogen production (annual)	0.1 mt domestic 1.4 mt export	2 mt domestic 3.75 mt export	0.4 mt domestic 2.8 mt export	3.6 mt domestic 5.6 mt export
Electrolyser capacity	13 GW	48 GW	27 GW	76 GW
Additional RES required	19 GW	72 GW	41 GW	114 GW
Electrolyser investment required	USD 10bn	USD 24bn	USD 22bn	USD 34bn

By 2030, only a limited portion of low-carbon hydrogen produced in Egypt is expected to meet local demand, primarily through the production of hydrogen derivatives. Looking ahead to 2040, hydrogen demand is projected to grow to about 2 million tonnes annually with derivatives accounting for the major part. Additionally, hydrogen is expected to play a role in the heavy goods transport sector and steelmaking.

Image source: National Low Carbon Hydrogen Strategy

The National Council for Green Hydrogen and its Derivatives, which was established in 2023, will monitor the implementation of the strategy and measure progress made towards the targets.

The strategy is expected to add about USD 18 billion to Egypt’s GDP by 2040, and create more than 100,000 new jobs by the same year, while increasing Egypt’s energy security by diversifying its sources, in addition to contributing to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and supporting the transition to a green economy.