Egypt, Sweden strengthen clean energy partnership with focus on storage, grid integration

Daily News Egypt

27-05-2025

In a high-level meeting aimed at advancing energy cooperation, Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mahmoud Esmat, received Swedish Minister for Foreign Trade and International Development Cooperation, Benjamin Dousa, at the Ministry's headquarters in the New Administrative Capital.
Also in attendance were Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, Sweden's Ambassador to Cairo; Gaber Desouky, Chairperson of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company; Mona Rizk, Chairperson of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company; and senior officials from both governments, as well as representatives from joint Egyptian-Swedish renewable energy ventures.
Discussions focused on strengthening bilateral collaboration across several strategic areas, including renewable electricity generation, large-scale energy storage, grid interconnection with Europe, green hydrogen production, technology innovation, and knowledge transfer.
The two sides explored ways to integrate renewable energy more effectively into Egypt's national grid, enhance grid stability, and boost the efficiency of clean energy distribution. Emphasis was placed on storage solutions to optimize the use of intermittent renewable sources such as solar and wind.
Key topics included wind energy, green hydrogen projects, and hydropower. The Swedish Development Finance Institute's support in funding studies related to capacity planning and the integration of renewables was also reviewed. Notably, the discussions included updates on a planned 1,000-megawatt independent battery storage system and progress on Egypt–EU electricity interconnection initiatives.
The talks also highlighted ongoing projects involving Swedish firms and explored new investment opportunities, in line with Egypt's broader energy diversification strategy. Officials underscored the importance of private sector involvement and international partnerships in achieving the country's clean energy goals.
Minister Esmat praised Sweden's continued support for Egypt's national energy strategy, which aims to raise the share of renewables in the energy mix to 42% by 2030 and 65% by 2040. He acknowledged the value of Swedish technical studies in supporting capacity planning and grid modernization.
He emphasized that most renewable projects in Egypt are implemented by both local and international private-sector entities, including active participation from Swedish companies in solar and wind power.
Esmat also reiterated Egypt's commitment to becoming a regional energy hub through cross-border electricity interconnection, enabling the export of surplus renewable energy—especially from solar and wind—to European markets. He stressed the importance of grid upgrades and increased renewable capacity in achieving this goal.
Concluding the meeting, Minister Esmat reaffirmed that electricity remains a national priority, as it underpins development across all sectors. With its abundant wind and solar resources, Egypt is well-positioned to lead in clean energy. Recent legislative reforms have been enacted to attract investment and support the country's transition toward a sustainable, low-carbon future.