"A real beacon of hope": EU wants to expand hydrogen production with Egypt

Will green hydrogen solve Europe's energy problems? At least more Egyptian hydrogen should be delivered to Europe in the future - the EU agreed with the host country at the climate conference.

"A real beacon of hope": EU wants to expand hydrogen production with Egypt

Will green hydrogen solve Europe's energy problems? At least more Egyptian hydrogen should be delivered to Europe in the future - the EU agreed with the host country at the climate conference. Germany provides millions for the production of the green energy source abroad.

At the World Climate Conference, the EU and Egypt agreed to jointly expand hydrogen production in the Arab Republic. EU Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans signed a declaration of intent together with several Egyptian ministers. Egypt is "ideal" as a location because of its potential for renewable energies from the sun and wind and the relatively short delivery routes to Europe, said Timmermans. It is now a matter of quickly launching projects, private investors must be given access. According to the European Commission, the EU is investing 35 million euros in state energy subsidies for the North African country.

The background to the deal is the EU's desire to achieve the climate goals it has set itself. Part of this is the expansion of renewable energies, which also includes hydrogen. With the new energy source, the EU would also reduce its dependence on oil and gas from Russia. Egypt, on the other hand, is looking for investors to expand its energy infrastructure.

With two new funding pots totaling 550 million euros, Germany wants to promote the development of the hydrogen economy abroad. This was announced by Development Aid Minister Svenja Schulze and the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, Stefan Wenzel, on Tuesday.

With the help of state funds, private investments are to be pushed on a much larger scale. One hopes to end up with a total of 2.5 to 5 billion euros, said Wenzel. This should work, among other things, because investors classify state-supported projects as safer. Schulze called hydrogen a "real beacon of hope" and a "key technology".

Many developing countries offer the best conditions for production, but there is a risk that they will still be excluded from the value chains of the future." So far, support programs have mainly existed in rich countries. That is what they want to change.

In industry, hydrogen can replace fossil fuels. The waste product then is no longer climate-damaging carbon dioxide, but water. Hydrogen can also be used to store energy from wind power and solar systems. However, its extraction is very energy-intensive.