DEME to expand green hydrogen portfolio with new production facility in Egypt

Belgium-based offshore energy and dredging contractor DEME has inked a cooperation agreement with the Egyptian government to establish an industrial-scale green hydrogen production facility in the Port of Gargoub in Egypt’s western desert.

The agreement with the Egyptian government was signed during the EU-Egypt Investment Conference, co-organized by the EU and the Government of Egypt on June 29-30.

For the new project, DEME intends to leverage the knowledge gained from the development of HYPORT Duqm green hydrogen project in Oman.

As disclosed, the HYPORT Gargoub will be developed in three phases, with the first phase targeting an annual green ammonia production of approximately 320,000 tonnes.

The production facility will be placed within the industrial zone of the Gargoub port, Egypt’s newest commercial port and industrial zone on the Mediterranean coast, while the wind and solar renewable power generation infrastructure will be located 70 kilometers southwest of Gargoub and connected to the production facility via a dedicated high-voltage power line.

HYPORT Gargoub is the second project within DEME HYPORT Energy’s portfolio to achieve a comprehensive agreement and land reservation, following its flagship project, HYPORT Duqm, in Oman.

Through a fully integrated strategy, DEME HYPORT Energy aims to ensure that each project generates and transmits all the necessary electricity and water – resulting in 100% green hydrogen molecules. 

“I would like to thank His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the esteemed Cabinet of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly for their endorsement and support of our project. I would also like to acknowledge Minister Kamel al-Wazir, the Egyptian Minister of Transport, for coordinating and supporting our efforts,” said Luc Vandenbulcke, CEO of DEME.

“DEME HYPORT Energy, which consolidates all of our green hydrogen interests is a cornerstone of our sustainability strategy. We are committed to establishing ourselves as a global player in the green hydrogen space. By leveraging our well-established presence in countries such as Egypt, we are poised to turn this ambitious strategy into reality.”

DEME is also a part of the consortium behind the PosHYdon project that aims to integrate offshore wind, offshore gas, and offshore hydrogen in the Dutch part of the North Sea.

Within the project, DEME Offshore is providing the hydrogen unit for installation on the Q13a platform, operated by Neptune Energy. The company is involved in the conceptual design of a 100 MW offshore hydrogen gas production plant, and a task leader in the evaluation of the business case in line with the 10 MW concept for the platform that will have a 100 MW capacity.

Furthermore, DEME will also be involved in the transport and installation of the onshore hydrogen unit to the Q13a platform.