Providing Solutions to Decarbonize Energy-Intensive Industries for a Sustainable Future in Egypt by 2050
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- Primary Energy Consumption by Sector: The industrial and transport sectors are the largest consumers of energy, followed by the residential, commercial, and agriculture sectors.
- GHG Emissions by Sector: The energy industry, manufacturing, and construction sectors contribute the most to GHG emissions, with agriculture, industrial, and waste management also making notable contributions.
- Unlike many studies that focus on developed nations, this research designs solutions specifically for Egypt’s energy-intensive industries (EIIs), addressing local economic conditions, policy frameworks, and available resources.
- This study highlights GHG emissions for industrial applications and CCUS for hard-to-abate emissions, offering a dual approach to deep decarbonization.
- Emphasizing Egypt’s vast solar and wind resources, this study proposes the large-scale adoption of renewable energy to power industrial operations, reducing the dependency on fossil fuels.
- This study promotes waste reduction, material efficiency, and recycling strategies to minimize resource consumption and emissions.
- The proposed solutions enhance energy efficiency while reducing carbon footprints by incorporating automation, AI, and the electrification of industrial processes.
- This study advocates for government-backed carbon pricing, subsidies for green technologies, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to accelerate decarbonization efforts.
2. Overview of Industrial Decarbonization in the Middle East
3. Egypt Climate Policy
3.1. Egypt Vision 2030
3.2. NCCC
3.3. Strategic Plan for Climate Change 2050
4. Overview of Egypt’s Energy-Intensive Industries
- Cement Production: Dominated by energy-intensive processes that emit CO2.
- Steel and Petrochemicals: Major sources of emissions due to the burning of FFs.
- Fertilizers and Chemicals: Significant users of natural gas and other fossil fuels.
5. Technological Innovations for Decarbonization in Egypt
5.1. Transition to Renewable Energy Sources
- Solar and Wind Power: Egypt has substantial solar irradiance and wind corridors. Large-scale photovoltaic (PV) installations and onshore wind projects can power industrial operations directly or through grid connections.
- Green Hydrogen: Hydrogen production from renewables offers a promising solution for sectors such as steel, where high-temperature processes are essential. Electrolyzers powered by renewable electricity can produce green hydrogen, potentially replacing fossil fuels in industrial processes.
5.2. Improving Energy Efficiency
- Smart Manufacturing: Utilizing advanced sensors, data analytics, and automation can improve process control and reduce energy consumption.
- Process Optimization: Upgrading equipment and implementing energy management systems can improve operational efficiency.
- Waste Heat Recovery: Recovering heat from industrial processes and converting it into usable energy can reduce overall energy demand.
5.3. CCUS
- On-Site Carbon Capture: CO2 emissions can be captured directly from industrial facilities and either stored safely underground or utilized for other processes.
- Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): Captured CO2 can be injected into oil wells to increase oil extraction, providing both economic and environmental benefits.
5.4. Electrification of Industrial Processes
5.5. Circular Economy Practices
6. Policy Recommendations and Economic Incentives
6.1. Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (EgyptERA) Policies
- Recent policies and regulations by Egypt’s Electricity Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (EgyptERA) focus on modernizing the electricity sector, promoting renewable energy, and enhancing consumer protection. Key initiatives include amendments to commercial regulations for electricity distribution companies [53], net metering policies to encourage solar energy adoption [54], and streamlined guidelines for connecting buildings to the main electricity supply [55]. Additionally, EgyptERA has introduced frameworks for private-to-private electricity schemes [56], licensing procedures for solar self-consumption plants [57], and comprehensive regulations for integrating solar energy into the national grid [58]. These measures aim to enhance energy efficiency, increase private sector participation, and support Egypt’s transition toward a more sustainable and resilient energy system.
6.2. Policy and Regulatory Frameworks
- Establish clear and ambitious emission reduction targets for each industry.
- Implement carbon taxes or emissions trading schemes to make carbon-intensive processes more costly to incentivize industries to reduce their emissions and encourage cleaner alternatives.
- Provide subsidies for green technology and tax benefits for industries that adopt renewable energy solutions. Financial incentives for renewable energy projects, electrification, and green hydrogen can drive investment in low-carbon technologies.
6.3. Economic Incentives and Funding
- Foster collaboration between the government, private sector, and research institutions to drive innovation and investment in low-carbon technologies and pool resources and expertise, accelerating decarbonization projects.
- Egypt can leverage international climate finance mechanisms, such as the “Green Climate Fund”, and technology transfer agreements to support decarbonization efforts and green initiatives.
7. Opportunities and Challenges to Decarbonization in Egypt
- ➢
- Opportunities:
- Significant reductions in GHG emissions and improved air quality.
- Creation of green jobs, increased competitiveness in global markets, and reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels.
- Enhanced energy independence through the use of local RESs.
- ➢
- Despite these promising solutions, Egypt faces several challenges:
- Decarbonization measures have high initial costs, which may deter private investment. Transitioning to renewable energy and implementing CCUS technologies require significant capital.
- There is a need for significant investment in the research and development of low-carbon technologies. Some industries require new infrastructure to support renewable energy and hydrogen.
- Ensuring regulatory alignment to support decarbonization across different sectors requires substantial policy reform.
- Uncertainty in demand for low-carbon products and the lack of established markets for new technologies.
- Lengthy permitting processes and a lack of coordination among government agencies.
8. Case Studies of Decarbonization Efforts
8.1. The Helwan Cement Plant
8.2. Suez Steel Company
9. Roadmap to 2050
9.1. Short-Term (2030)
Expected Impact by 2030
- Reduce industrial sector emissions by 30–40% [37].
- Create jobs in renewable energy and green technology sectors.
- Improve air quality, with a significant impact on public health.
9.2. Medium-Term (2040)
9.3. Long-Term (2050)
10. Conclusions and Future Work
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
ATS | Advanced Technologies Scenario | IEEJ | Institute of Energy Economics Japan |
BAU | Business-as-Usual | IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
CCE | Circular Carbon Economy | IMO | International Maritime Organization |
CCUS | Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage | IRENA | International Renewable Energy Agency |
EIIs | Energy-Intensive Industries | LCA | Life Cycle Assessment |
ETC | Energy Transitions Commission | MENA | Middle East and North Africa |
ETS | Emissions Trading System | NCCC | National Council for Climate Change |
EU | European Union | PPPs | Public–Private Partnerships |
EU-ETS | European Union-Emissions Trading System | RESs | Renewable Energy Sources |
FFs | Fossil Fuels | SDGs | Sustainable Development Goals |
GH | Green Hydrogen | TWh | Tera Watt Hour |
GHG | Greenhouse Gas | UAE | United Arab Emirates |
Gt. | Gigatons | US | United States |
IEA | International Energy Agency | WB | World Bank |
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Industry | Decarbonization Pathways | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cement Industry | Clinker substitution | CCUS | Electrification | Fuel switching |
Using alternative materials such as fly ash and slag to reduce clinker content | Capturing CO2 emissions and storing or repurposing them | Replacing fossil-fuel-based kilns with electric kilns powered by renewable energy | Transitioning to biofuels and hydrogen | |
Iron and Steel Industry | Material efficiency | Electrification | Hydrogen-based direct reduction | |
Improving recycling rates and reducing waste | Using electric arc furnaces powered by renewable electricity | Replacing carbon-intensive coke with green hydrogen | ||
Chemical Industry | Process optimization | CCUS | Fuel switching | |
Implementing smart manufacturing and digital twins to reduce energy consumption | Capturing emissions from chemical processes | Using renewable energy to produce hydrogen for chemical reactions | ||
Petroleum Refining | Adopting bio-based feedstocks | CCUS | Electrification and energy efficiency | |
Using biomass and waste products as inputs | Implementing CCUS to handle unavoidable emissions | Upgrading equipment and processes to reduce energy use | ||
Pulp and Paper Industry | Process improvements | Energy self-sufficiency | Biorefineries | |
Enhancing efficiency through automation and digital technologies | Utilizing residual materials for energy production | Converting biomass into fuels, chemicals, and materials | ||
Food and Beverage Industry | Reducing food waste | Energy efficiency | Renewable energy | |
Implementing measures to minimize waste along the supply chain | Upgrading equipment and optimizing processes | Integrating solar and wind energy into operations |
(A) | |||
Factor | Solar Energy Feasibility | Wind Energy Feasibility | Hydrogen Feasibility |
Infrastructure Readiness | - High solar radiation (2000–3000 kWh/m2/year). - Benban Solar Park (1.8 GW). - Expanding transmission infrastructure. - Limited local PV manufacturing. - Grid integration/storage challenges. | - Strong wind potential (7–10 m/s in Gulf of Suez). - Established wind farms (1.6 GW). - Grid congestion in high-wind areas. - Need for advanced forecasting/storage tech. | - Existing natural gas pipelines can support blue hydrogen. - Green hydrogen requires large-scale electrolyzer deployment and renewable energy expansion. - Hydrogen projects in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) show promise. |
Policy and Regulatory Framework | - Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and PPP support. - Vision 2030 goal: 42% renewables by 2035. - Bureaucratic delays in approvals. - Need for clearer long-term incentives. | - Government incentives (land allocation, tax breaks, PPAs). - International support (EU, Japan, World Bank). - Need for more competitive bidding processes. - Delays in land acquisition. | - Egypt is developing a National Hydrogen Strategy. - Agreements with EU, Germany, and Japan signal political will. - No clear regulatory framework for hydrogen production, storage, or distribution. |
Economic Viability | - Falling solar costs and strong foreign investment. - Revenue from energy exports. - Fossil fuel subsidies impact competitiveness. - High capital costs for small-scale projects. | - Decreasing wind costs (~$0.03/kWh). - Target: 14 GW wind capacity by 2035. - High upfront costs for offshore wind. - Underdeveloped local turbine supply chain. | - Green hydrogen remains expensive due to high production costs. - Government subsidies and FDI are necessary for scaling. - Egypt prioritizes hydrogen exports over domestic adoption, which may slow local industrial decarbonization. |
(B) | |||
Factor | CCUS Feasibility | Energy Efficiency Feasibility | Circular Economy Feasibility |
Infrastructure Readiness | - Major industrial CO2 emitters (cement, steel, petrochemicals) exist. - CO2 storage potential identified in the Gulf of Suez and the Western Desert, but further assessment is needed. - No CO2 transport infrastructure (pipelines, hubs) currently exists. | - Growing electricity demand (~7% annual growth) encourages efficiency improvements. - Siemens mega power plants increased efficiency by 30%. - Smart grid and smart meter projects in urban areas. - Efficiency improvements in energy-intensive industries (cement, steel, petrochemicals). - Old and inefficient transmission and distribution networks (10–15% energy losses). - Limited adoption of energy-efficient buildings. - Low awareness in residential and commercial sectors. | - High waste generation (~95 M tons/year). - Emerging waste-to-energy projects. - Limited waste separation. - Underdeveloped recycling facilities. |
Policy and Regulatory Framework | - No dedicated CCUS regulatory framework for storage, liability, or investment incentives. - No carbon pricing or credits to drive adoption. | - National Energy Efficiency Strategy aligns with Egypt Vision 2030. - Electricity Law (2015) supports demand-side energy management. - Energy efficiency codes for buildings and green initiatives (EDGE certification). - Government-led energy audits for industrial sectors. - Weak enforcement of energy efficiency regulations. - Lack of strong financial incentives for private sector adoption. - Subsidized electricity prices reduce motivation for efficiency improvements. | - New Waste Management Law (2020). - Government incentives for waste-to-energy. - Weak enforcement of regulations. - Dominance of the informal waste sector (70%). |
Economic Viability | - CCUS is capital-intensive and lacks direct financial incentives. - Cement and steel industries require clear incentives or mandates for investment. | - Significant cost savings potential from reduced energy waste. - International funding (EU, World Bank, UNDP) supports efficiency programs. - Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) emerging with performance-based financing. - High initial investment costs for efficient equipment and retrofitting. - Limited financing access for small businesses and households. - Long payback periods discourage investment. | - Growing market for recycled materials. - Foreign investment in waste-to-energy (Siemens, Veolia). - High cost of recycling infrastructure. - Few financial incentives for circular practices. |
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Saleeb, H.; El-Rifaie, A.M.; Youssef, A.A.F.; Mohamed, S.A.; Kassem, R. Providing Solutions to Decarbonize Energy-Intensive Industries for a Sustainable Future in Egypt by 2050. Sustainability 2025, 17, 2408. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062408
Saleeb H, El-Rifaie AM, Youssef AAF, Mohamed SA, Kassem R. Providing Solutions to Decarbonize Energy-Intensive Industries for a Sustainable Future in Egypt by 2050. Sustainability. 2025; 17(6):2408. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062408
Chicago/Turabian StyleSaleeb, Hedra, Ali M. El-Rifaie, Ahmed A. F. Youssef, Shazly A. Mohamed, and Rasha Kassem. 2025. "Providing Solutions to Decarbonize Energy-Intensive Industries for a Sustainable Future in Egypt by 2050" Sustainability 17, no. 6: 2408. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062408
APA StyleSaleeb, H., El-Rifaie, A. M., Youssef, A. A. F., Mohamed, S. A., & Kassem, R. (2025). Providing Solutions to Decarbonize Energy-Intensive Industries for a Sustainable Future in Egypt by 2050. Sustainability, 17(6), 2408. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062408