How do you assess Egypt’s current energy landscape?
Egypt is proactively advancing reliable and sustainable energy solutions, with demand primarily driven by urban expansion, new infrastructure projects, and a significant increase in energy consumption during the summer months.
Egypt's concerted efforts to secure sufficient gas resources – through LNG imports and domestic exploration – are commendable. Natural gas plays a vital role in the energy transition as one of the least emissive fossil fuels and serves as Egypt’s major source of energy.
Strategic planning and significant investments will be paramount to ensure continued energy access, enable efficient grid management, and keep the country firmly on its path toward the energy transition.
How can Egypt leverage these opportunities?
The diversification of energy sources is inevitable to ensure sufficient electricity supply while staying on track with the energy transition. Egypt must utilize an energy mix to minimize the drawbacks of each source. Renewables like wind and solar offer clean energy, but their supply is intermittent – gas-fired power plants bridge this demand gap. As natural gas is still a fossil fuel, the integration of hydrogen in combined-cycle power plants (CCPPs), including those developed by Siemens Energy, can further enhance the efficiency and sustainability of power generation processes.
I always emphasize what I call the power of partnerships, as no one can navigate the energy transition alone. Egypt saved USD 10 billion in fuel costs since 2019 due to its cooperation with Siemens Energy on highly efficient power plants, which covered the construction cost of the megaproject.
The megaproject involved a strategic collaboration between the government and Siemens Energy, Elsewedy Electric, and Orascom Construction, leading to the establishment of three CCPPs (14.4 GW) in a record 27.5 months and providing electricity for nearly 40 million people. Concurrently, Siemens Energy built 11 substations across the country to strengthen the grid.
Does the grid still need further strengthening?
Grids are the backbone of energy systems. We need to simultaneously strengthen the gas-dominated grid and add more power lines to streamline the integration of renewable energy. This approach facilitates the electrification of residential areas, transportation systems, and critical infrastructure.
Siemens Energy Egypt delivered 12 substations between 2023 and 2024, reinforcing the national grid and enabling the electrification of key infrastructure. We are supporting major transport projects such as Cairo Metro Line 4, Monorail Line 1 (New Administrative Capital), and the Banha-Port Said railway line. To power Egypt’s high-speed train, we are expanding substations along the Alamein, Sadat, Zahraa Maadi, Hadayek October, and Tahrir-Badr lines. Additionally, Siemens Energy has electrified residential areas including Capital Gardens, El Sadat, New Mansoura, and New Alamein, and we are currently working on Maspero in cooperation with NUCA.
How do you view the interest in renewable energy?
The interest is high, driven by strategic state objectives and international support. Egypt aims to add 15 GW of new renewable capacity by 2030.
Several projects are underway, including Siemens Energy’s ongoing cooperation with the HPPC to upgrade power transformers at the Aswan Hydropower Complex, extend their lifespan to 40-50 years, and add 300 MW of electricity to the grid. This project will serve more than 1.6 million people in Aswan and neighboring governorates.
In cooperation with Scatec ASA, Siemens Energy will deliver a high-voltage substation to evacuate 1GW of electricity generated by a PV plant and give access to clean energy to nearly one million homes in Nagaa Hamadi.
Egypt has also decided to leverage nuclear energy amid an exciting shift in global perceptions. Nuclear power is increasingly seen as a reliable, carbon-free solution that can provide consistent, around-the-clock power.
These projects will enhance access to sustainable energy, reduce emissions, and help Egypt become an exporter of energy and green hydrogen. Such efforts are evident in major projects such as of the Greece-Egypt electrical interconnection (GREGY), the Egypt-Bavaria declaration of intent to boost cooperation in hydrogen, and the Egypt-Saudi interconnection project.
How can energy supply chains remain sustainable?
Our experience with the Egypt Service Center shows that localization holds great potential. The center reduces downtime for cross-regional customers, as it conducts cost-efficient repair and maintenance activities for all rotating equipment. For example, by leveraging highly-advanced technologies and equipment, the center conducts various maintenance and repair scopes for 24 advanced 8000H turbines,12 large steam turbines and 32 hydrogen-cooled generators in Egypt.
The Egypt Service Center includes repair and tooling centers. In the repair center, a vast array of rotating equipment like reciprocating and turbo compressors and small steam turbines are repaired and maintained. In 2024, the center boosted its capabilities with an advanced laser welding machine for repairing shafts in compressors, steam and gas turbines, pumps, and valves.
The service center recently manufactured a steam turbine rotor support tool, now in use in Beni Suef. This center also leverages the laser welding machine, automation equipment, cutting tools, coating devices, and heating tools to support Egypt’s massive energy fleet.
How can the energy sector use AI to address challenges?
AI models, including those developed and trained by Siemens Energy, provide systems that can think, solve problems, and make decisions like humans. These benefits will help the energy sector operate faster and better. For example, a trained AI system would recognize a serious issue in a power plant that monitoring systems missed, like a hidden leak or an undetected fire, and alert the standby team.
While these advancements promise efficiency, they also bring an additional challenge to Egypt, currently home to only 5.5% of the region’s data centers. The soaring use of AI will inevitably drive-up demand for energy-intensive data centers, requiring higher energy production in Egypt.
By leveraging AI and machine learning technologies, we are improving grid management, enabling the integration of renewable energy sources into existing networks, and optimizing energy asset utilization. Accordingly, the grid’s overall efficiency and reliability will improve while ensuring stability and reducing downtime.
To what extent is human capital development essential for success in the future of work?
We believe in the importance of bridging the gap between academic training and the evolving needs of the job market, as there can be no energy transition without innovation. A prime example of these efforts is the strategic cooperation protocol signed in May with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTMT) to train tech and engineering students at the Egyptian German Technical Academy (EGT Academy).
The EGT Academy was established at the Egypt Service Center with this purpose in mind. To date, it has trained over 6,000 professionals across various customizable programs in industry-specific areas like energy and industrial automation, providing core training in mechanical, electrical, and automation engineering.
The academy also offers customizable technical courses covering a wide range of topics, like decarbonization, renewables, wind certification and health and safety. In parallel, the academy provides tailored courses designed to help trainees thrive in today’s workplace, including leadership skills for females in the energy sector, and empowering people with disabilities.