The first coordination meeting to activate the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Egypt and the European Union (EU) on the strategic partnership on hydrogen projects was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in the Governmental District of the Administrative Capital.

The MoU was signed during COP 27, which Egypt hosted in Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2022.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Electricity, Renewable Energy, Foreign Affairs, the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and several officials of other state agencies concerned with hydrogen production projects.

During the meeting, the relevant areas of cooperation that the joint working groups will work on were reviewed, which includes accelerating the deployment of renewable energy generation projects, the necessary infrastructure, the regulatory framework, studying supply and demand, taking into account environmental sustainability, and ways to provide the required financing for the implementation of these projects.

The meeting further reviewed developing a plan for execution for each group by formulating a specific action plan with a timetable for the various activities and expected results. This is in addition to merging the outputs of the action plans into a master action plan that contributes to the implementation of the memorandum of understanding.

For his part, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla explained that there is a global trend to accelerate the pace of transition to low-carbon energy sources and that hydrogen will play a growing role during the coming period.

It is considered one of the primary sources of low-carbon energy, stressing that Egypt has capabilities that qualify it to expand the scope of hydrogen production operations within the framework of the national strategy for low-carbon hydrogen, which is about to be finalized soon.

El Molla highlighted the importance of concerted efforts by all concerned parties to find appropriate frameworks to achieve cooperation and integration between the parties to the energy industry. He added that this should include governments and the private sector, especially international financial institutions, to contribute to financing such projects.

There is no doubt that in light of the extended partnership between Egypt and the EU, the next phase will witness more cooperation in renewable hydrogen and its derivatives, El Molla noted.

Egypt is open to countries of the world and international companies to cooperate in hydrogen production to achieve the common interests of all parties, El Molla pointed out.