SCZone, C2X Sign Framework Agreement to Establish Green Fuel Facility in Sokhna

Moustafa Madbouly – Egypt's Prime Minister witnessed the signing ceremony of the Framework Agreement between The General Authority of Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), the New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), and C2X; to establish a green fuel production facility with investments of Up to $3 billion for the first phase of the project, for ships bunkering services and decarbonization.

The FWA was signed by Waleid Gamal El-Dien - Chairman of SCZONE, Sabah Mashaly – CEO of EETC, Ayman Soliman – CEO of TSFE,  Mohamed El-Khayat - Chairman of NREA, and Brian Davis - Chief Executive Officer of C2X; which is a recently founded company, as an arm of A.P. Møller Holding as a majority owner with A.P. Møller-Mærsk; aiming to build, own and operate assets for the production of large-scale green methanol and its derivatives, the signing ceremony was in the presence of Mohamed Shaker the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, and Hala El Said the Minister of Planing and Economic Development.

Signing this FWA comes within the framework of the Egyptian country’s targeting clean energy projects, as Egypt is working on establishing projects to produce and use green methanol and green ammonia, especially in the ship bunkering sector, which SCZONE succeeded in the first green fuel bunkering operation in East Port Said Port for the World's first methanol-powered vessel affiliated to A.P. Møller – Mærsk fleet. This is due to Egypt's distinguished location and unique capabilities that make it a pioneer in this sector.

The Prime Minister stressed that the Egyptian country, under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, continues to strive at a rapid pace to expand in the field of clean energy to produce green hydrogen and its derivatives; whether green methanol or green ammonia.

“Today's FWA is the 10th framework agreement within the Memorandums of Understanding signed by SCZONE as a MoU was signed with APMM in March 2022. SCZONE aims to transform into a green economy and its various industrial applications, such as green fuel production, which is one of the most important sources of clean energy in the world; in addition to the capabilities of SCZONE related to the integration of its ports with affiliated industrial zones, as well as the infrastructure for green hydrogen projects, most notably the presence of the economic zone within the green corridor sites and what is currently implemented by SCZONE in terms of the utility corridor - one of the green fuel delivery routes - after the completion of its manufacturing stages within the plant and its storage operations, then transporting and exporting it to the port in preparation for its shipping to all European markets,“ Gamal El-Dien stated.

SCZONE's Chairman also added that today's framework targets its first phase to produce 300 kilotons per annum of green methanol, Upon the project's final stages, the aim is to achieve an annual production of one million tons of green methanol, given that the project site possesses the elements that make it well-suited for this endeavor. He Pointed out that the details of the project were discussed with the Group’s ELT during the visit of the SCZONE delegation to Copenhagen in mid-September, to discuss activating the agreement and its actual entry into force after its signing by all Parties, so that the works could be launched in Egypt through the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

On his part,  Brian Davis - CEO of C2X said: "This is an important milestone in our endeavor to the global transition to green fuels. Egypt has many natural advantages that support a world-class green methanol project including access to high-quality renewables and proximity to the Suez Canal as the most important global trade waterway. Signing the Framework Agreement today marks another important milestone in realizing our ambition to be a leading producer of green methanol. We thank the Government of Egypt and our Egyptian Sponsors of authorities and parties of the Agreement for their continued support and look forward to working with them to make our project a success we can all be proud of."

It is worth mentioning that A.P. Møller - Mærsk has already ordered 25 container vessels able to operate on green methanol, which will join its fleet in early Q1-2024. This is another remarkable milestone in the path of green transformation. APMM is moving forward towards achieving its ambitious strategy to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040, as APMM is at the forefront of decarbonizing the world, confirming its constant endeavor to explore new opportunities, technologies, and partnerships that will constitute a more sustainable and flexible logistics industry.