SCZone Sees Signing of $1.8 Billion Clean Energy, Battery Project

Egypt unveiled its largest clean energy investment to date, signing a package of strategic agreements worth more than $1.8 billion to develop utility-scale solar power projects alongside the region’s first major battery energy storage manufacturing facility.

The initiative, announced on Sunday, reflects Cairo’s push to localise green energy technologies, strengthen energy security, and position itself as a regional hub for renewable power and its components.

The signing ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development Kamel El-Wazir, Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat, and Waleid Gamal El-Din, chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), alongside representatives from Norway’s Scatec and China’s Sungrow.

At the heart of the plan is Energy Valley, a flagship project led by Scatec that ranks among the largest of its kind globally. The project includes the construction of a 1.7-gigawatt solar power plant in the Minya governorate, supported by battery storage systems with a total capacity of 4 gigawatt-hours.

The storage facilities will be distributed across Minya, Qena, and Alexandria, enabling the delivery of stable, dispatchable electricity to Egypt’s national grid and to industrial zones in Upper Egypt 24 hours a day, a critical step in overcoming the intermittency challenges traditionally associated with solar power.

Officials say the project will play a key role in easing pressure on the electricity network, particularly during peak demand periods, while accelerating Egypt’s transition toward a cleaner energy mix.

In parallel, China’s Sungrow signed a land usufruct agreement to establish a state-of-the-art battery energy storage manufacturing plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, within the TEDA industrial developer area. The facility will span 50,000 square metres and is expected to have an annual production capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours once fully operational.

Commercial production is scheduled to begin in April 2027, with the factory supplying battery systems directly to the Scatec-led solar project in Minya. The model reflects Egypt’s growing emphasis on “manufacturing for national projects”, integrating local industry into large infrastructure developments rather than relying solely on imports.

The battery plant will be the first of its scale in the Middle East and Africa, reinforcing Egypt’s ambitions to anchor advanced energy manufacturing within its industrial zones.

Prime Minister Madbouly said the projects underscore the state’s commitment to localising green industries and enhancing long-term energy security. He added that attracting investments of this scale from global players signals strong confidence in Egypt’s investment climate, despite global economic uncertainty.

Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat highlighted the role of foreign private-sector partnerships in transferring advanced technologies for energy storage, consumption monitoring, and grid efficiency. Meanwhile, SCZone chief Waleid Gamal El-Din said the Sungrow investment confirms the readiness of the Ain Sokhna industrial area to host high-tech, future-oriented industries.