Egypt’s Mahmoud Esmat, the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, met with Ashraf Hamasa, the Managing Director of Siemens Energy, and Dietmar Siersdorfer, the Managing Director for Africa, along with their delegation.
The meeting’s main goal was to address the opportunities and challenges of the energy transition by advancing energy generation through cutting-edge technologies.
To lower carbon emissions from fossil fuels, expanding renewable energy and green hydrogen projects were major topics of conversation. It also investigated how digital transformation might improve asset performance and data value to satisfy rising energy demands.
In attendance at the meeting to discuss the Burullus power plant project were Gaber Desouky, Chairperson of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, and Sabah Mashaly, Deputy Minister of Energy.
The goal of this project is to use co-firing technology with a hydrogen production unit that uses desalinated water to operate two gas units with a 30% hydrogen and natural gas mix.
Egypt will be positioned as a leader in low-carbon hydrogen thanks to this initiative, which bolsters the government’s commitment to a green hydrogen economy. The use of salt water for power generation and determining the project’s most economical geographic locations were other topics covered in the meeting.
According to Mahmoud Esmat, the industry is adhering to the new energy strategy, which is centred on grid development, low-carbon generation, energy efficiency, renewable energy utilisation, and emission reduction. One of the strategies is to make the grid smarter to manage high capacities with little loss.
Praising efforts to achieve sustainable development and environmental protection, he highlighted the role played by the private sector in renewable energy projects. Mahmoud Esmat reaffirmed the state’s commitment to growing green hydrogen and renewable energy projects, bringing the electrical equipment industry local, and raising operational and service standards.
The partnership with Siemens Germany spans multiple projects, including the building of three combined cycle power plants in Burullus, Beni Suef, and the New Administrative Capital, with a combined capacity of 14,400 megawatts. Elsewedy and Orascom, local companies, will also be involved in this project.