UAE’s Amea Power moves forward with its green fuel project in Egypt: Emirati renewables company Amea Power — a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based investment company Al Nowais — has finalized the feasibility studies for its planned green hydrogen plant in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone, Amea Power’s Senior Director of Business Development Hussein Matar told Enterprise Climate.

REMEMBER- Amea signed an agreement with the Egyptian government to set up a 1 GW green hydrogen plant — expected to be up and running by 2027 — on the sidelines of COP27 last November. The company will use the green hydrogen it produces as feedstock to produce green ammonia for export markets.

Gearing up for electrolyzer imports: Amea Power is in advanced talks with several international technology companies for the supply of electrolyzers that will power its plant, including Longi, John Cockerill, Peric, Envision, Nel Hydrogen, and ThyssenKrupp, according to Matar. “The selection of the supplier for the hydrogen electrolyzer, which is one of the major components of the project, is expected to be concluded by 2Q 2024,” he said.

Preliminary offtake agreements are also in place: Amea has already secured five green ammonia offtake letters of intent from several global companies, Matar told us.

Why Egypt? The most crucial factor for developers in determining where to set up green hydrogen projects is the cost of electricity, Matar said. Electricity investments make up 60% of total project costs for green hydrogen developers, as opposed to common assumptions that electrolyzer costs make up the bulk of green fuel investment tickets, he adds, noting that Egypt is particularly enticing on that front. The country’s proximity to global markets also made it a logical choice. “We are very keen to be close to the export markets, and we see the export market being Europe and Asia,” Matar told us.

Amea has a strong foothold in the country: The company has in excess of 1 GW of renewable power projects in Egypt in the pipeline with investment tickets totalling USD 1.1 bn. Amea is developing the 500 MW Abydos solar energy plant and the 505 MW Amunet wind farm in Egypt, with a collective USD 500 mn in financing provided by the International Cooperation Agency, the International Finance Corporation, and Dutch development bank FMO ahead of project launch.

IN OTHER AMEA NEWS- Amea is eyeing a mega green hydrogen plant in Djibouti: Amea Power submitted a feasibility study last week to develop a 1 GW green hydrogen project in Djibouti, Matar told us. The project will rely on wind and solar energy projects with a 2.2 GW generation capacity, and Amea will build the battery energy storage facilities, desalination plants, and transport infrastructure for its planned green fuel hub. Amea plans to use the green hydrogen it generates as feedstock to produce 700k tons of green ammonia annually. The company is looking to leverage Djibouti’s wind and solar resources as well as its strategic location to export the green fuels to international markets, he said. The price tag for the 1 GW project — on which Amea is projected to break ground by 2025 — is expected to be in excess of USD 2 bn.

And finalized a PPA for its 25 MW solar farm in the country: Amea also inked a 25-year power purchase agreement with the government of Djibouti to offtake electricity from its 25 MW solar power plant in the Grand Bara region, according to a statement released last week. The project is expected to have an annual 55 GWh energy capacity, and be complemented with a battery energy storage facility to ensure the supply of clean power beyond daylight hours and during inclement weather, Amea notes.