Egypt turns to green desalination
Cairo hopes renewables-based water purification could both narrow the domestic deficit and enable it to realise its green hydrogen ambitions
Egypt is preparing to tender for the construction of a network of desalination plants powered by renewables to address an acute shortage of fresh water and provide feedstock for green hydrogen production. The county’s sovereign wealth fund is seeking partners to invest about $2.5bn to build, own and operate 17 desalination facilities powered by solar and other renewable resources with a combined capacity of 2.8mn m³/d by 2025. Egypt is taking advice and technical support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, with the first tenders—for some 1mn m³/d—due in early 2022. $2.5bn – Projected cost of desalination net
Also in this section
4 February 2026
Europe’s largest electrolyser manufacturers are losing patience with policymakers as sluggish growth in the green hydrogen sector undermines their decision to expand production capacity
2 February 2026
As a fertiliser feedstock, it is indispensable, but ammonia’s potential as a carbon-free energy carrier is also making it central to global decarbonisation strategies
28 January 2026
The development of hydrogen’s distribution system must speed up if the industry is to stand any chance of grabbing a meaningful slice of the low-carbon energy market
14 January 2026
Continent’s governments must seize the green hydrogen opportunity by refining policies and ramping up the development of supply chains and infrastructure






